Just Being Purple
by nejitenteji10sasu10
Summary: He's supposed to be training her, but ends up falling in love with her. She's a new Pokemon trainer with a strange gift that could be used for evil. Their Pokemon are aspiring matchmakers. And arguing with each other won't make it easier.OC slots full.
1. In The Purple

Heyya. This is Kat, an writer who writes naruto, teen titans, and prince of tennis fanfics. I decided to try pokemon (I like a variety of stories) this time, though.

Any of my readers from Naruto: **Jealousy Starts With A Song, 1 Week, Sakura White and the Seven Genin, and Replaced** are on Hiatus. Sorry.

This is gonna be a GARYxOC thing. You might catch a glimpse of the other trainers, but this starts in Hoenn. Sorry, guys! I wanted it to start in Hoenn, cuz the OC wants to start there, and she'll be going to Kanto and Johto in other chapters.

Soo… let's start!

--

**Of Falling In Love**

When people look at me, they take me as the normal trainer. Only I'm fourteen years of age, and some things at home kept me from leaving town for my journey the previous years.

But they're wrong.

I decided to take a different path. I don't start with (according to others) the relatively easy regions, wherein most starter trainers go to start on their first journey. Also known as Kanto. But I want to start _backwards. _See, my grandparents own the daycare near Verdanturf. I've practically been surrounded by pokemon since I was born. Despite this, I come from the small town of Oldale, and believe me, walking to Verdanturf is HARD.

Luckily, my dad's already a good pokemon raiser/breeder, so he lets me borrow Swellow, so that we can fly to Verdanturf whenever we want to!

Back to what I said, I took a different path. But before I go, it's off to Professor Birch's…

"Ahh! Finally, Samantha Garret comes! Welcome!" Proffersor Birch greeted me as I stepped in the lab.

I grinned back at him. "Just Sam, Prof. Just Sam." Yes, that was me. Samantha Daniela Garret. I have long black hair up to my waist, bangs died purple pinned to the side, purple-rimmed glasses, and, well, purple eyes. Blame genetics for that. I have no idea where I got PURPLE eyes from. Anyway, it's my best feature.

He laughed. "Still as feisty as always, eh?" he grinned and walked towards me. "How's Matthew?"

"Dad's fine, Prof." My dad and the professor have been friends since forever.

"And Daniela? Is she doing fine, also?" he asked, referring to my mother, who participated in Pokemon contests every now and then.

"Yup."

"Well, anyway. You're going to start your journey today, I presume?" he smiled as he led me to the back.

"Oh yeah! I am sooooo pumped!" I grinned. "Can I pick a Pokemon now?"

"Of course, Sam." He smiled. "From your experiences, I can guess that you know the three starter Pokemon?"

"Torchic, Mudkip, and Treecko." I said immediately.

"Good! Have you decided which one you'd like?"

"Well, Prof, I guess it depends on the Pokemon. Heck, I want a Torchic, but I don't want one that's mean to me, or doesn't like me."

His eyes sparkled with glee. "I couldn't have expected nothing else from the only daughter of the great pokemon breeder!" he paused, taking a serious tone. "But yes, my dear, you're right. Shall we see the Pokemon?"

He pressed a button, and three pokeballs on a table appeared. "Pick one. Take your time, I'm not in any hurry."

I selected the Pokeball to the right most, and pressed the button. After a flash of red, a Mudkip went out.

"Mud. Mudkip mud."

"Awww! Isn't that a cute little thi-"

BWOOSH.

A water gun hit me square in the face, leaving me soaked. Meekly, I pressed the button on the Pokeball, and in another flash of light, Mudkip disappeared. "Definitely not that one." I picked the one next to it, the one in the center.

A flash of red, and thus appeared my dream Pokemon – a Torchic. "Whee!" I grinned, and cautiously approached it. First, the bird stared at me, then opened its mouth-

"KYAAAAH!" I yelled. "I'm on fire!" Okay, officially, I so do not want a Torchic. Professor Birch tried to hide back a smile.

"They don't seem to like you."

"And I just figured that out now. Great." I sighed sarcastically. Professor put the now submissive Torchic back in its ball. "Guess I'm stuck with Treecko." I stared silently at the last Pokeball.

But before I could reach it –

"Hey, Prof! Gramps wanted me to give you something!" a boy with brownish hair came in, wearing a purple long sleeved shirt, an Umbreon following him. He carried a package in his hands, and handed it to Professor Birch.

"Hello, Gary. Oh, this must be the new High-tech Pokedex." The Prof grinned as he unwrapped it, revealing a shiny red thing which looked like a gameboy. "Hold on a bit, Gary. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Whoa. He was gonna introduce me to him?

"Hm?" he turned around, raising his eyebrow at me. Umbreon looked at me curiously, and lazily closed its eyes as it slumped to the floor in a deep slumber.

"Gary, this is Sam Garret. She's a new trainer, even though she's one year younger than you." Prof turned to me. "Sam, this is Gary Oak, grandson of Professor Oak."

"Hey." He gave me a little half-smirk. "Nice to meet you."

I grinned, and smiled at him. "Nice to meet you too."

He stiffened as he looked into my eyes (I mean, really, really, REALLY look at me) and shrugged it off. He shook my hand, coming closer. "I like your eyes." He grinned.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"They're weird." He said, smirking, not nicely, but arrogantly. "I haven't seen anyone with weird eyes like yours."

My face turned red with anger. "Oh shut up! It's not like you don't like purple! Just look at your gay-looking shirt!"

"May I ask who you're calling gay, lady?"

"At least I have an excuse to wear purple!" I turned around, tossing my hair to the side. "I'm not a guy!"

Meanwhile, Professor Birch was looking at a note hidden under the Pokedex. He noticed us looking at him and smiled. "I have an announcement."

"Yea?" I asked.

"Sam, you're just starting your Pokemon journey, correct?" I nodded. "And Gary, according to your grandfather, you're just starting in Hoenn?" he nodded. "Professor Oak wants you, Sam, to accompany Gary, since the loss of his cheerleaders takes away his self-confidence." Gary turned red with embarassment and fury. "What? I'm just reading the note."

"There is no way, in this pure world, that I am going to travel with him." I said scathingly.

"Too bad, purple." Gary said sullenly. "When Gramps wants something, it's done. No questions asked. Even if it IS against my will." He said, shooting a look in my direction.

I, in return, shot a look at him.

"Come on, you two. This is just a small journey –"

"Which will take months on end." I interrupted Professor.

Gary sighed. "I'll go. But I swear, I'm only doing this out of _pity._" He said, kneeling down on the ground to wake Umbreon.

I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it. "Hmph." I reached for Treecko's Pokeball, and clicked it open. Treecko rose an eyebrow at me, and it reminded me SO much of Gary I'm-too-good-for-you Oak, that I burst out laughing. "I like this one."

Treecko's hard eyes melted at my laugh, and then twinkled. "Treecko tree." He walked towards me and wrapped his arms around my leg.

"YAY!" I laughed. "My first Pokemon!"

A loud yawn interrupted my joy. I scowled and turned around to face Gary, who had lounged out on Prof's couch, Umbreon yawning soundlessly next to him. "Couldja at least be a bit more happy for me?"

"Nope." He smirked, making a popping sound at the _p_.

Professor Birch sighed. "Anyway, here's your Pokedex. I'm sure you know what it does…"

"Yup."

"Well, then, I wish you good luck-"

Gary cut off Professor by whirling me out the door, (I have no idea how he got up from the couch so fast) by pulling my arm. Before we exited, I yelled, "Bye, Prof! Thanks for everything!"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, OAK?!" I yelled the minute he dragged me out the door.

"I was in a hurry. You, being a girl, would hang around to chat, so I wanted to get started right away." He yawned.

I smacked him at the back of his head.

"The HELL?" he yelled.

Ignoring him, I continued. "I have to pick up some stuff from my house. Come with me." I said, making it sound more like a command than a request.

Begrudgingly, he followed me.

We reached my home in Oldale soon, since it was just a five-minute walk. Gary taught me how to battle a wild Zigzagoon, (I never told him I knew how to battle already) and then we entered Oldale.

My house wasn't a fabulous place, but it wasn't horrible, either. It had a simple garden (where there would always be some Pokemon from every region hanging around), and a simple two-storey house.

"Well? You coming in?" I gestured towards the gate. Without a word, he pushed me aside and opened the gate, without waiting for me to follow.

Grumbling, I followed him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an Arcanine went and charged Gary. "Ohmigod! Are you okaaaaay, Oak?" I rushed towards him, where Arcanine had pinned his arms to the ground with her paws, and was standing on top of him.

"Get…It…Off…" he mumbled.

"Arcanine…" I murmured gently in her ear. "Gary's my acquaintance… it's okay." Arcanine turned her head towards me, as if asking if I was sure. I laughed. "I don't like him, but that doesn't give you the right to bite his head off."

From underneath Arcanine, Gary grumbled, annoyed. Arcanine turned her attention to the fifteen-year-old in front of her, and started licking him from head to toe.

"Hey-! Get off- H-Hey!"

I giggled when Arcanine finished, seeing a drenched Gary Oak on the ground. "Don't worry, we have towels inside." I offered my hand, and he took it. As I helped him up, I lost my balance and fell backward. Arcanine yelped as I landed on the ground.

My eyes opened wide as I realized our position, with Gary putting one hand on either side of my head, so as not to fall on me, and his knees on either side of my waist. Not only that, his head was _this_ close to mine, our foreheads almost touching.

Paralyzed, I blinked once, twice. Arcanine seemed to notice my uncomfort, and gently nudged Gary off me, seeming to remember that he was my 'acquaintance'. Gary, after a few seconds, snapped out of his reverie, and stood up. I stood up too, dusting my white skirt, which had a few dirt marks on it. I turned to Gary, who was blushing deeply and staring at the ground. "You getting what you need, or what?" he yelled.

"I'm going, I'm going. Sheesh. Immature brat." I stuck my toungue out at him.

"Who's being immature now?" He smirked.

Ignoring him, I brushed by him into the house, and into my room. "Ma! I'm home! Dad!"

"Hello, dear!" My mom's voice floated towards me from downstairs.

"Ma, I have a friend over, he'll explain everything, I just have to get some stuff." I yelled down. I grabbed a purple and blue backpack form the shelves, and stuffed some clothes in it. On my journey, I'd buy more clothes, but the ones I had were good for about three days. And if we ran into a river, I could just wash my clothes. I also brought my copy of _Much Ado About Nothing_ by William Shakespeare, a love-hate story between two totally different people, and one of my favorite stories. Not forgetting the essentials, I brought shampoo, soap, and deodorant. Finally, I found my black and purple checkered belt-bag (you know, it's like, strapped around your waist, and it's a bag, get it?) and put in about 10 pokeballs, potion, paralyze heal, pokeblocks, pokefood, and bandages. Whew. Finally, I changed into: A black short-sleeved hoodie, white tank top underneath, and jeans. Of course, I put on sneakers, the durable kind. I pulled my hair back into two ponytails, and went downstairs, towing my light backpack (yeah, it was light.) and my belt-bag.

"Oh, you're the grandson of Professor Oak?" My mother's voice asked.

"Yeah…" Gary replied, pride swelling in his voice. I squinted my eyes angrilly. This guy was too FULL of himself.

"Hey mom, Oak." I said, practically spitting the last name out. "Ma, this is my Pokemon, Treecko." I took out Treecko's pokeball, and pressed the button.

The minute Treecko stepped out, my mom squealed. "Oh, he's adoooorable!" she leaned down to pat his head, Treecko obliged. "Honey… just remember this advice." She turned towards me, a smile in her eyes. "You will fall, you will trip… but you will never lose it all. No matter what happens, you'll always have someone there to help you. There will be someone who cares, someone who will help you up." She stood up and hugged me. "Good luck."

I grinned, and my eyes wandered to Gary.

The latter was looking at my mom with a sad look on his face, clouding his eyes with the saddest look I had ever seen. He closed his eyes as if to compose himself, and when he opened them, looked arrogant and selfish. Aw, and I was enjoying that.

Suddenly, my mom whispered in my ear. "Good luck with Gary, okay? He's cute!"

I turned deep scarlet, and whispered fiercly. "MOM!"

Gary turned his head to look at me, and smirked.

"He is, dear! And besides, you'll be spending months on END with him!" she giggled and whispered again. "Did I ever tell you how I met your father?"

I shook my head.

"We travelled together. It was just the two of us, me doing my contests, him on his infamous journey to become the greatest pokemon master… and eventually, we fell in love." She smiled dreamilly. "If only you and Gary-"

I broke from her grip, at the same time, putting Treecko back in his pokeball. This mother-daughter talk would have to wait. Maybe when the said boy wasn't in the same room?! "Bye mom! Don't want to keep _dear_ Gary waiting, don't you? Bye!!!" I yelled, and grabbed Gary's arm as we disappeared out the door.

I could still hear my mom laugh as she closed the door behind us.

That's the first chapter. -_- Thank goodness I finished it. Wooh.

Was it okay?

Please click that little button under here… haha… okay?

-preview-

"_Idiot." _

"_Brat."_

"_Dunce."_

"_Wannabe."_

"_Arrogant bastard."  
_

_Gary and I glared at each other. Underneath us, Treecko and Umbreon rolled their eyes. I turned my back to him. "You are being SO impossible right now, OAK."_

"_I would've left you YESTERDAY if I had the chance."_

"_Then leave!" _

"_You know I can't do that."_

"_Do. It."_

_Gary glared at me one last time. "Fine." _

--end of preview--


	2. Messing With Purple

I'm baaaaack! By the way, I'm accepting OC's. There are slots for: **Sam's friend**_(One time appearance, will be seen in Rustboro City)_**, Gary's Rival for Sam's Love**_(will be frequently seen in the story, must be a BOY.)_**, Sam's Other Friend**_(will be in the story FULL TIME, knows about their love for each other, often gives advice to Sam and Gary on what to do around each other)_**, and Gary's friend**_(I'm not sure how many times he'll be around the story. Haven't decided. But Gary's friend must be a BOY. Will eventually show interest in Sam's other friend, or Sam herself)_**.**

Please just review the following:

Name: (of character)

Quick Biology: (history, attitude, family, grew up in _____) also include if you want to be Sam's Friend, Gary's Rival for Sam's Love, Sam's other Friend, OR Gary's friend.

Profile: (appearance) (ex. Short black hair, golden eyes)

Pokemon: (**NOTE: you must be willing to allow me to change your Pokemon in time, whatever the flow is in the story. We must be in contact; I'm not asking for your emails, just probably PM's every once in a while, okay? Also, about the Pokemon, please, for now, just basic Pokemon, like maybe a Zigzagoon, Taillow, the works. Also, I can accept if you have Pokemon FROM THE OTHER REGIONS. But please, just the basic pokemon. I promise, you'll get better Pokemon in due time.**)

Before I start the chapter: just remember this… _**FIRST COME FIRST SERVE**_. If you really want your OC in here, maybe I can fit you in – in later chapters. For now, these guys will be the MAIN CHARACTERS. Or side characters, since technically, Gary and Sam are the Main Characters. Hee.

By the way, my favorite part in this story was the Gary-Umbreon conversation. I can easily see where Umbreon gets his language.

Okay… story start!

It had only been three hours of walking on the road to Petalburg, and I was getting so sick and tired of him. Imagine walking, while the person next to you is boasting that he's the 'famous Professor Oak's' grandson, made it to the Indigo League, and etcetera. I swear, even Umbreon had his head hunched between his shoulders in shame.

Treecko and Umbreon, however, are NOT at all like Gary and I. In fact, they get along just fine, and I swear they talk about us when we're not looking. For now, Treecko stays out of his Pokeball.

"And then I took out my Nidoking and we were KICKING THAT GUY'S BUTT, yeah. It was a piece of cake." He said, smirking arrogantly, placing his hands behind his head.

"Y'know, boasting about how you won in the Preliminaries isn't as exciting as you actually winning THE ACTUAL INDIGO LEAGUE." I said, teeth gritted.

Gary frowned. "I'm hungry. Let's rest."

I impatiently puffed out a short burst of breath. He was so UNBEARABLE. "Fine, fine."

Gary reached into his bag and pulled out some Pokefood, placed it in front of Umbreon, in the can, still not open. Umbreon sighed (or, that was what it sounded like) and took out a sharp claw and Scratched the can open. I stared at Gary. "Are you SO lazy that your own Pokemon has to open its' own food?" I said, withdrawing my own Pokefood for Treecko, and opened it with my trusty Swiss Knife.

Gary yawned. "Too tiring."

A vein popped in my head. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, and instead, changed the subject. "Where's the map?"

Gary blinked his eyes. "Map?"

Oh no… "The map. The map of Hoenn. The map of Hoenn I gave you thirty minutes ago. That map." I said.

"You never gave me a map."

"Yes I did! You were all, 'hey, when are we gonna reach Petalburg? You know, gramps is an old friend of the Gym Leader there' and all that _crap_ and I gave you the map and said, 'see for yourself' and I walked ahead. Ring any bells?!"

"…"

"You lost it! You _lost_ the map and I am about to lose my _sanity_ right now, we have been walking for only _three hours_ and _ALREADY_ you lose the map!? How the _heck_ do you think we're going to make through Hoenn, _huh_?!" I screeched.

"Chill, okay?! God, stop speaking in italics!"

"I can speak in italics if I _want_ to, got it, _bonehead_?!"

He glared at me. "Just shut up, nuisance."

"Idiot."

"Brat."

"Dunce."

"Wannabe."

"Arrogant bastard." Gary and I glared at each other. Underneath us, Treecko and Umbreon rolled their eyes. I turned my back to him. "You are being SO impossible right now, OAK."

"I would've left you YESTERDAY if I had the chance."

"Then leave!"

"You know I can't do that."

"Do. It."

Gary glared at me one last time. "Fine." He turned around, and gestured towards Umbreon, who was looking at us, eyes wide. "Umbreon." As Umbreon hesitantly stepped to his side, he stared at me, long and hard. "Let's see how long you can last alone, Sam."

He walked ahead of me, and turned to the right of the path. Gritting my teeth, I yelled back at him. "Oh yeah?! Let's see how long YOU last before you get lost!"

I turned around to face Treecko, who was looking at me, crossing his arms, and giving me a look I knew too well. "What are you looking at?"

**(A/N: I'm giving you a translation of what the Pokemon will say. Just assume that the owners can't understand.)**

'Treecko tree treecko tree tree treecko tree." _–I can't believe you did that. You just let him go like that? Idiot!- _

"You're telling me I'm an idiot too, huh? Yeah… it's my first journey away from home and I fight the only guy who can help me – as much as I find that hard to believe – and now he's gone. I'm reeeeeal smart, Treecko, can't you see?"

"Treecko. Treecko tree treecko tree." _–I can see _that_, believe me.-_

"And… I feel really bad for fighting him… damn… I can't believe I said that…"

"Tree? Treecko tree tree tree treecko tree? Treecko tree treecko. Treecko treecko tree tree!" _-oh really? Or are you just concerned that you might not see him again? I see how you look at him. Don't tell me you can't feel it!-_

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Somehow, I don't want to understand what you just said."

Treecko gave me a smug look. "Tree." _–Hn.-_

(WITH THE INFAMOUS GARY OAK AND THE LOVABLE UMBREON)

"That… little… brat!" Gary yelled, kicking stones in the trail. "I am so PISSED right now!"

"Breon. Breo breo umbreon." _–be pissed. Like I care.-_

"Yeah, I know she's an idiot too."

"Umbreon?! Umbreo umbreon breon umbreo breon!!!!" _–I did NOT say that?! You're the idiot for leaving her!-_

"Doesn't it just make you MAD when she talks like that?"

"Umbreon…" _–you've known her for less than five hours. And you already know what makes you mad?-_

"But… I don't really feel good about yelling at her… that was stupid…"

"Breon." _–like you.-_

"But I can't just go back there and say sorry! She did something bad too!"

"Breon breon..." _–she yelled at you cuz you lost the map…-_

"I know it was my fault, but I mean… it's also hers!"

"Breo?" _–can you hear yourself talking right now?-_

Suddenly, Gary dropped his voice down to a whisper as he knelt down to talk to Umbreon. "But – don't tell Treecko if we meet up with them again – I secretly think she's cute. And well… I don't exactly see what's wrong with purple eyes."

"Umbrrrreon!" _–sure, sure… trust me! –rollseyes—_

"C'mon Treecko. I think we should go in that direction."

"Treecko? Tree tree treecko tree!" _–You know you're going in the OPPOSITE direction of Petalburg if we go there, right?-_

"Don't look so skeptical! I'm sure that's the correct way!" I smiled at Treecko. "Oh come on, trust me!!!"

"Tree treecko tree!" _–Are you sure that's a safe decision?-_

"I know you don't trust me! Well, come on! I'm gonna prove you wrong!"

"_**YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!**_"

Umbreon's ears pricked up. "Breon?" _–Sam?-_

Gary blinked. "That could only be Sam. What should I do?"

Umbreon stared at it's owner, and suddenly started banging its head on the ground. His trainer was honestly, so dense, in matters of the heart.

"What do you think got her so scared, Umbreon?" He asked, patting the Pokemon's head.

"Bre-Breon!" _–Help her, idiot!_- Since, unfortunately, Gary couldn't understand him, Umbreon rolled its eyes and pulled on Gary's pant leg.

"You want me to save her?"

"BREON!!!!!" (Okay, I think we all know what Umbreon meant by that…)

"N-No! Bad dog, bad dog, BAD DOG!!!!" I screeched at the two dozen PLUS Poochyena who were practically biting my ankles. Treecko ran alongst my side, being useless against that many Poochyena.

"Umbreon, Tackle attack!" Gary then appeared out of nowhere. Umbreon tackled the Poochyena nearest to me, and started on the others. Blinking away the shock, I called to Treecko.

"Treecko! Help Umbreon out! Pound!" Treecko hit the Poochyena closest to him. "G-Gary! It's not enough!"

"Well, it shouldn't be… I can't believe you disturbed about 29 Poochyena in such a short period of time…" He sighed sarcastically.

"JUST STOP BEING AN ARROGANT MESS AND HELP ME!" I yelled.

"Fine, fine…" he murmured. "Go, Mudkip, water gun!" in a flash of red, Gary's Pokemon cleared out about three Poochyena in one go.

After ten minutes, we had cleared them all out except for one. And this Poochyena was getting closer to me. "Treecko, Bullet Seed!"

"You taught it bullet seed already? Nice." Gary said, impressed.

I shot a look at him. "If you're apologizing, at least do it properly. Don't bug me. I wanna catch this one." I then concentrated on the Poochyena, which growled at Treecko, then ran towards it for a Tackle. "Treecko! Dodge it by jumping in the air, then use an airborne Bullet Seed!"

Treecko jumped up and used Bullet Seed, hitting the Poochyena in the face. Poochyena growled, then jumped up, ready to jump on Treecko.

"Treecko! Get out of the way, and Pound!" Treecko, with precise timing, hit Poochyena. Stumbling a bit, Poochyena tried to stand up, then failed.

"Nice one, Treecko!" I grinned and pulled out a Pokeball. "Go, Pokeball!" In a flash of red light… Poochyena was mine.

"Tree treecko tree!" _–wow, my first battle! It was awesome!-_

I went over and picked up the Pokeball. "Go, Poochyena!" Poochyena appeared again. "Ohhh, you're so adoooorable!!" I squealed.

"Uhm… Sam?" Gary said, sounding uncertain.

"What?" I said coldly, not taking my eyes off my newest Pokemon.

"I'm sorry… for being a jerk… and losing the map… and being a show-off… and trying to prove I was better than you… and splitting up with you… and calling you those mean names… and-"

I grinned and sprung up to hug him tightly. "It's okay. But I know we'll be fighting again sooner or later… and… I'm sorry too." I let go of him, and realizing how red he was, I turned the same color.

"Breon… Umbreon Breo." _–Awww… how touching.-_

"Treecko treecko tree!" _–I know! They are so…-_

"Bre." _–Yeah.-_

"Tree tree!"_ –They are so cute together!!!-_

"Breon umbreon Breo breo breon." _–The perfect match… always fighting.-_

"-barkbarkbark!-" Poochyena and Mudkip joined in. _–The girl's my new master, right? Sam? That's a pretty name!-_

"Mud, mudkip mud."_ –Oh boy, now this is a party.-_

"Treecko tree!"_ –I have an idea!-_

"Breo?"

"Mud?"

"Bark?"

(I guess you can guess they're all asking what)

"Treecko treecko tree treecko, treecko treecko, tree tree treecko tree, treecko, treeeeeecko treecko tree!" _–Let's get those two together, they're so right for each other, they're made for each other, they deserve each other, and I reeeeeeeeeally want Sam to be happy!-_

"Mud mud mudkip mud!" _–We're Pokemon, not matchmakers!-_

"Buuurrrrrreonnn!" _–Don't be such a pessimist! We can do this!-_

"What are you four talking about?" I demanded.

"Mudkip." _–Nothing… much.-_

"This is one of the times when I wish I could understand Pokemon." I sighed, frustrated.

"Me, too." Gary agreed.

The Pokemon looked strangely sinister as they started talking amongst themselves.

After about ten minutes of total silence, (with occasional whispers of Pokemon language that made no sense at all) I lost it. "Okay, would you guys just… TELL us what you're whispering about?"

Umbreon, Mudkip, Treecko and Poochyena looked at me innocently, mouths shut.

"Arrrrrgh!"

"Just chill, Sam, okay? They couldn't tell us even if they wanted to." Gary said, rolling his eyes.

I turned on him. "And YOU!"

Gary held his hands up in front of him. "What did I do this time?!"

"You're so… damn… quiet!" I said, crossing my arms. "Just because I get mad at you when you act so arrogant and bastard-ish, doesn't mean I don't like it-" I blushed, and covered my mouth, all the while staring down Gary.

Gary smirked. "Oh… so you _do_ like it."

"I…" I blushed harder. "I so do not!"

"Do too,"

"Do NOT!"

"Do too…"

"Do not do not do not do not do not do not do not do not!"

Gary's smirk grew even wider. "Judging from the blush that's on your face, I'm guessing that…" he leaned in close to my face. "_You do._"

I glared at him. Suddenly I realized that our faces were _much_ too close to each other. I immediately looked in the other direction, pretending to look at Treecko. "We should be in Petalburg in about ten minutes. Or so."

Gary looked at me. "Oh… okay."

Was that chance just wasted?

Wait, what am I THINKING about?!

Wooooooosh! Chapter 2 done!

Don't forget to submit your OC's, people!

Take care and review!

---Kat---


	3. Purple Kisses

Hello, peoples! I didn't expect to get all the slots for this story in one go, hahaha. So anyway, here are the OC's.

**Sam's Other Friend – Julia Evergreen (Distant-Moon)**

**-You didn't tell me what kind of Pokemon you wanted… if you want the Pokemon to be your original wants, then review them, please?**

**Gary's Rival For Sam's Love – Skylar 'Skye' Storne (Serpent's Ballet)**

**-I just chose a random town for your hometown, okay? I didn't see which place you wanted to be your hometown. LOL. **

**Gary's Friend – James Evens (WolfSummoner93)**

**For thebeats. I like your ideas, and I'll put them in someday, some chapter. Thanks for submitting!**

Now, all of you might actually think that we're done with the OC's. You are all SO wrong. See, I am very un-creative with names and whatnot, and I might need more, so stay tuned! Other than that, let's just keep moving on!

P. S. I'm going to change this to a regular POV. I wanted to try this kind of POV, since I'm not that good with Sam's POV.

P.P.S. _**EXPECT UPDATES ON FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS OR SUNDAYS. **_

--

"YES!!!!" Sam collapsed on her knees as she entered Petalburg. "I got here without murdering you, Gary! My temper is under control!"

Gary rolled his eyes. "Yipee." He said, in an undertone.

Sam glared back at him. "And yet, somehow, I can't figure out _why._"

Poochyena, who was out of her ball, suddenly charged at her knees, and nearly knocked her down. "Hey!" Sam rubbed her knees. "That's a pretty strong Tackle attack you got there. What is it?"

Poochyena sat down on her hind legs and gave Sam the puppy dog pout with puppy dog eyes, just as Poochyena's stomach started rumbling. Sam slapped her hand on her forehead. "You guys must be hungry! Man! Gary, let's head for the Pokemon Center first."

Gary shrugged. "'Mkay."

Sam picked up Poochyena and cuddled her. "Don't worry, baby, you'll have some rest and food in no time." She cooed, and kissed Poochyena on the forehead.

_I wonder what it would be like if _I _was a Poochyena… WAIT, WHAT AM I THINKING?!_ Gary blushed. Umbreon nudged him with her nose, and rose her eyebrow at him.

Gary looked at Umbreon. "It's none of your business."

--

Sam lounged comfortably in one of the tables in the Pokemon Center's canteen, and sipped a can of Coke. She reached for the magazine she had pulled out of some random rack, and started reading it.

"Well? Are you just gonna sit here and drink Coke, or are we going to explore Petalburg?"

Sam turned around to look at Gary, who had a bored look on his face. "Look, I have been walking around for about three hours in some random woods or whatever, dealing with your crap, and now you want me to walk around the city with you? Nu-uh. I am staying here, and I am going to rest before the Gym battle."

Gary shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm not buying you anything, though."

"Do I look like the kind of person who would want to buy something? No."

Gary stuck his tongue out at her, and left the canteen.

Sam sighed contentedly, and just leaned farther down in her chair. _Peace and quiet._

--

Gary was bored.

Bored, bored, bored, bored, and of course, bored. He didn't exactly have his Pokemon with him, and he didn't have Sam to entertain him. It was strangely quiet.

And there wasn't a lot of things to look at, anyway. Just a few stores, here and there.

Did he wish that he had stayed with Sam in the Pokemon Center. Gary sighed. Suddenly, a store caught his eye. Without thinking, he entered.

"Welcome, young man!" an elderly woman greeted him from the counter. "Did anything catch your eye in the window?" she said, eyes crinkling as she smiled at him.

"Actually…" Gary said quietly, a slight smile on his face. "There was…"

--

Sam twitched as she sat… alone… in the canteen. It was quiet. She sat upside down on the chair, then five minutes later, she lay down on the chair. She crossed her legs, then she uncrossed them. Cross, uncross. Cross, uncross.

_I am officially going insane. _Sam thought dryly. _Who'd think that I'd be like _this _without Gary?_ She decided to look at her watch. Again. _He's been gone for like, two hours. What could he be doing?_

She crossed her legs on the couch, and put her hands behind her back. Then she started humming some random tune.

_I could go after him. _She thought. _I could start looking for him._

Suddenly, a small package wrapped in purple crepe paper was tossed on the table in front of her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and she looked behind her, and saw Gary's retreating back. She smiled, in spite of herself. "I thought I told you I didn't want anything?"

Gary stopped, shrugged, and went out of the canteen. "It matched your eyes." He said, almost in a careless voice, from the hallway.

Sam blushed a bit. _Wait, this can't mean anything. It's probably just a friendly gift. That's it. _She then turned her attention to the small package. She carefully untapped it, and rose her eyebrows when she saw a little box, almost like a ring box. She opened it, and there were two hair clips, with assorted purple gemstones. One was personalized with her name, and the other was in form of a heart. She blushed. These were… _pretty cute_. She thought, as she fingered the heart.

Smiling to herself, she got up and went to the room they were staying in for the night, and she saw Gary, lying face down on the lower bunk. Sam shook her head, still smiling, and went to the bathroom to change into some nightclothes. She went back into the room, and climbed into the bed next to his, another lower bunk. She faced the wall, and started dreaming.

--

Gary woke up, and the sky was still dark. There was a hint of a sunrise on the horizon though, and he got up and yawned. His eyes wandered to where Sam was sleeping, and he smiled. _I wonder if she liked them._

--

Sam woke up when the sun was already up. She groaned. _Gary must think I'm an idiot for waking up this late. Wait, since when did I care what he thinks?! _She shook her head. _I think I'm going crazy._

She stood up and went to the bathroom to take a bath, and when she was done, she wore her usual clothes. Smiling, she reached for the clips in her back, clipped them on, on looked in the mirror.

"…haven't seen you for a long time, Skye." She heard Gary talking to someone in the hall just outside her door.

"Yes." A cool, calm voice, which made Sam wonder excessively who the heck was Gary talking to, and if he was cute, spoke back "And are you traveling alone, Gary?"

"I'm with my… friend." He said.

_Did he just call me his friend? _Sam thought, incredulous. _That's cute. _She smiled.

"A friend? Introduce me to him!" The other guy said, sounding excited.

"Well, I'm not actually with… a _guy_…" Gary stressed out.

Sam could almost hear the smirk on the other guy's face. "So you're traveling with your girlfriend, then?"

"What?! I… _no_… it's… Gramps told me to." Gary said lamely.

The guy chuckled, and said, "Well, then, where is she?"

Sam decided to shyly open the door, and pretend to be shocked. When she did, she really was shocked.

Standing in front of Gary, looking at her with a curious look on his face, was the person Gary had been talking to. He was slightly shorter than Gary, and if she hadn't heard his voice before she opened the girl, she'd have thought that he was a boyish looking girl. He had blond hair that just reached past his cheek, with a fringe at the end, and curled slightly. Sam thought he looked like a vampire; he was so pale in so many ways. But it was his eyes that made her interested. They were gray, and they looked cold, but well, they kind of had a soft look in them. In other words… he was… _hot_. Sam thought.

Gary coughed slightly, seeing how Sam was ogling at his friend. "Good morning, Sam." His eyes traveled to her purple bangs, which were clipped back with the clips he'd given to her yesterday. "You're wearing those clips, I see…"

Sam jumped a bit after hearing Gary's voice (she had almost forgotten that he was there) and turned to him. "Hehe, yeah! They're… pretty!"

The other boy had walked in front of her. "My name is Skylar Storne. Skye, to my friends… and who are you?" he said smoothly, staring at her with a twinkle in those irresistible gray eyes.

"Sam. Sam Garret." She said haltingly. "Hi." She squeaked out.

Gary narrowed his eyes. "Sam? Did you-"

"So where did you come from, Skylar?" Sam asked, curiosity clouding in her eyes.

"I'm from Viridian City, in Kanto." He smiled. "I grew up, though, with Gary."

"Oh, cool!" Sam smiled back at him, eyes lighting up. "Are you a Pokemon trainer? Can I see your Pokemon?"

He nodded, and pulled out two Pokeballs from his belt bag. "Come on out, Surskit! Azurill!"

"Ohhhh!" Sam squealed. "They're, like, so cute!" she knelt down to pat Azurill's head. "Did you catch them yourself or what?"

"Surskit was given to me by my mother, a coordinator." He smiled at her. "Azurill just started following me after I saw her on the road to Petalburg."

Gary crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Skylar. Oh, we just _know_ that Gary looks _adorable_ when he's jealous. "I'm going to go inquire when the Gym's going to open." When he received no reply, Gary looked a bit sad. "If Sam still cares about challenging the Gym, that is."

"Oh, so you're left-handed too? That's so cool!" Sam grinned, not noticing at all what Gary was saying.

"My dad was left-handed. And I guess yours was too…?"

"My mom." She said, looking at him shyly. "Hey, did you have breakfast yet? I'm kinda hungry."

"No, not yet. I just ran into Gary at the entrance of the Pokemon Center, and we started talking. Wanna join me?" Skylar said, winking at her.

Sam blushed. "Well, I guess it'll be okay." She said, smiling.

They started walking the opposite direction of Gary, chatting about random things along the way.

Gary looked at their backs sadly, and clenched his fists. _I can't believe this. What the heck am I thinking? I'm not… I'm not JEALOUS. I'm just… concerned. Right. Concerned._

Sam walked back to the room, her Pokemon in her belt bag, a happy flush on her face. _Skylar's really a great guy. In short, he's everything that Gary isn't- _She stopped in her tracks. _What did I just think?! I don't like Gary in that way._ She shook her head.

She reached the room, and opened it. When the door was fully opened though, she was shocked to see Gary standing right behind the door. "Ah. Gary…?" she said, blinking rapidly. She stepped backwards, surprised. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes. "We can't have a Gym battle today. Gym's closed, and it won't open for a few weeks. We were advised to go to Rustburo, though." He said, eyes closed.

"Uh, okay…" she said, uncertain. "Are you okay? You don't seem like your old, arrogant self." She said, trying to joke around.

Gary glowered at her. "And you seem to like that."

Her eyebrows furrowed together, confused. "What are you talking about, Gary? What's wrong with you?"

"I should be the one asking what's wrong with you!" he snarled, turning his back on her.

Sam's jaw dropped open, and then she spoke. "Ex-_cuse_ me!? What's wrong with _me?!_" She said angrily, jaw snapping closed again.

"Where's your new friend?" he said, turning around to face her again, sneer on his face.

Sam was silent.

Then she started laughing really hard, clutching her sides. Gary's expression turned from anger to confused. "What are you laughing about?"

"You…" she laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "You're _jealous!_" she choked out, laughing harder. "You don't _like _it when I'm with other guys, don't you!"

Gary blushed, glaring at her all the while. "I didn't say anything like that!"

Sam just laughed harder. "Even if you didn't…" she said smugly, crossing her arms. "It proves that you're a selfish, greedy little boy." She said teasingly.

Gary glared at her again. "Oh, shut up, Sam, how could you know what I'm thinking?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Boys are predictable, Gary, remember that."

Suddenly, Gary leaned forward, and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He stayed there for a moment, and leaned back, a satisfied grin on his face as Sam's eyes widened and she turned red. "We're not that predictable…"

Sam blinked. "Did you…"

"I did."

"But that means that you…"

"I wanted to prove to you that boys aren't exactly predictable." He said, trying to hide the blush that was coming up on his cheeks, too.

Sam blinked again. "Um… okay, then." She said, sort of dazed, and walked into the room.

The fact that their backs were turned to each other, however, didn't stop them from smiling at what had just happened.

AHHH. Chapter done.

Serpent's Ballet – just tell me if I didn't portray the character correctly. I'll try to change it, if you aren't satisfied.

Your Romeo – I forgot you in the beginning, sorry. :D but anyway, I like your character profile. I think that Gary should have a lot of rivals for Sam, don't you think? I mean, I tried making her pretty and witty… I'll fit you in somewhere, don't worry!

POLL: guys, just review your answers, okay? Do you think Gary should have more rivals for Sam? Just to make it interesting?

Thanks for reading, my readers.

-may the force be with you-

;]


	4. Saving Purple

"Uh… maybe we could just walk around the forest, through those mountains over there, down that slope, and get to Rustburo without even going _near _Petalburg Woods!" Sam said, smiling hopefully, as they stood in front of a cluster of tall trees, also known as the beginning of Petalburg Woods.

Gary looked at her at the corner of his eyes. "You're scared."

"Am not!" she yelled back. "It's just that it would make much more sense if we went that way!"

He smirked at her. "Sure, sure, we can go that way…" Sam sighed with relief. "If you want to reach Rustburo in a months' time."

Sam growled at him. "I'm not scared, Gary." She got a twinkle in her eye. "Oh well, I guess I'll just ask Skye to go with me, then. You can go on ahead. Besides, Skylar was just telling me yesterday that he'd _love_ to go hiking some day, and I'm _sure_ that he'd want to go on to Rustburo with a friend…" she turned around to start walking back to Petalburg. _3, 2, 1_… She counted confidently in her head.

"SAM!" Gary yelled at her. "I am not going through the mountains. But… I'll promise not to leave you." He grumbled out the last part. Umbreon gently nudged his knee with her head, a smirk on her face.

"Bre." _You're jealous._

Sam didn't turn her back, with a smug grin on her face. "And…?"

Gary let out a sigh. "You aren't scared."

She smiled, and turned around. "Through Petalburg Woods!"

"That's her?" a feminine voice, sort sinister, asked, unbelieving.

"It has to be her." Another voice said, this time, masculine. "Her eyes are purple."

"She's so young…" the woman murmured.

"What was that, Inferno?"

"Nothing… Maxie, sir."

"Very well then."

"What do you want me to do, sir?" she asked.

"I want you to try and take her down." He said, a smug tinge to his voice. "And bring her to me."

"Eek!" Sam squealed, as something rushed through the bushes. She clutched Gary's arm like a vise.

"Sam, for the last time, that was probably a Slakoth." Gary said, sounding exasperated, but secretly enjoying the fact that she was practically latched on to him.

"And for the last time, Gary, Slakoth's don't exactly 'rush' through bushes." She said, through grit teeth.

Gary laughed. "Tell me, honestly, Sam, okay? What makes you so scared of the woods?" he said gesturing at the trees above them. "It's not exactly like those things you see in movies y'know, with Hoothoots hooting everywhere, red eyes peering at you from the bushes… So what is it?"

Sam crossed her arms. "I'm not telling you anything." She said firmly.

"Come on."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleasepleaseplease?"

"No."

"I'll do _anything_…" he said.

"N- wait, did you say _anything_?" she said, looking evil. Gary felt nervous. He knew he had gotten himself into something he probably would regret in the future.

"Yes…" he sighed.

Sam bit her lip and looked at her feet. "Promise me you won't laugh." She said quietly, facing him.

"Promise."

"I'm afraid… I'm afraid… of…" then she mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"What?"

"_Shroomish._" She mumbled.

Gary's eyes widened. "Did you say Shroomish?"

"Yes. Yes, I did say that." She said, glaring at him, daring at him to laugh at her.

Which he would do.

When the time was right, meaning, _not now_.

"Uh… why?"

"They… uh… abducted me… when I was seven." She said, sounding ashamed. "I was with my grandparents, and well, a group of them used Stun Spore on me so I couldn't move… and then they dragged me away… I've kinda been haunted by them and they freak me out, okay?" she crossed her arms. "There. Start laughing." She said.

But Gary was silent.

Sam rose her eyebrows at him. "Why the heck aren't you laughing? This is a surprise." She said sarcastically, unconsciously fingering the handmade clips on her head.

Gary caught the gesture and grinned to himself. _She liked them. _

Suddenly, before Gary or Sam could retort, Sam felt a drop of water on her shoulder. "Oh no, please don't tell me it's-"

The rain started pouring on them. Umbreon started panicking, running in circles, until Gary put it back in its ball, while Treecko started doing some… rain bathing? Like the opposite to sun bathing. Yeah. Grass pokemon like water, you know.

"Your Treecko is weird. It's just lying there, under the rain." Gary commented while he and Sam started looking for a tree big enough to shelter them.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Grass pokemon like water, you know."

See, what did I tell you?

Anyway, Gary spotted a big tree. "That one looks good enough." He mumbled.

"A… A… ACHOO!" Sam sneezed as they started running towards the big tree.

"You okay?" Gary asked, concerned, as he slowed down (he was running faster than her) to check if she was alright.

"I'm… (sniff) okay… I'm just… (sniff) really vulnerable to… colds. (ACHOO!)" Sam wiped her nose on her sleeve.

Gary smiled at her. "C'mon. I have to take care of you." He said, gently pulling her arm towards the tree.

Sam blushed. "Excuse me? (sniff)"

"You are sick, Sam. And I _am_ kinda like your babysitter, so deal with it." He said smugly, as they reached the tree. Sam felt dry when she reached the shelter of the tree.

She slumped down and hugged her knees. "Did you (sniff) just call yourself (ACHOO!) my babysitter?" she asked, glaring at him.

Gary put his backpack on the ground, and started looking for something. "Yeah. Well, Gramps _did_ tell me to look out for you." He said, shrugging.

"What are you looking for?" Sam asked, curiosity piqued as Gary started rummaging deeper in his bag.

"This." He said, bringing out something white and crumpled. He tossed it over to Sam, who rose her eyebrows at the thing.

"What is 'this' exactly?" she asked, picking it up between her thumb and index finger.

"It's my old coat, when I used to study Pokemon with Gramps." He said. "Go on, see if it's warm or something."

Sam tried to unfold and smooth the white jacket that was Gary's. _Why do I feel so frikkin weird? It's not because I'm going to wear something of Gary's, right? Ugh. _She slipped her arms in through the sleeves, and smiled, contented. "It's not warm, but it certainly isn't 'or something'." She smirked at him. "ACHOO!"

Gary shook his head. "And you lug along this big backpack of yours," he said, gesturing to her backpack (which was considerably larger than Gary's) which was lying, abandoned on the ground, "And you have the guts not to bring any medicine of any kind."

Sam growled. "I was in a hurry, okay? Because _someone_ wanted to start on his journey right away! Because _someone_ was acting like a total jerk in front of my mother! Because _someone_ probably thought the world was gonna end in three days and at least wanted to get to Petalburg! ACHOO!"

"Let's get things straight, I did not act like 'a total jerk' in front of your mom!" he yelled back.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah right! The show-offy tone in your voice probably radiated all the way to Ever Grande!"

"They're arguing again." Inferno, as we know her, smirked as she watched the two exchange less than friendly conversations. "This is kinda amusing."

She was crouched behind a bush, well hidden and unnoticed by our two main characters. "I'd love to take them out now, but it's raining. I won't have a chance." She mumbled.

She reached out a hand to her lower left to pet a Poochyena which was standing obediently by her side. "Don't worry, my dear… We'll get you into battle soon."

Sam glared at him. _He's being impossible!_ She screamed in her head.

They were now about six feet apart from each other, and having, well, a glaring contest. Treecko hadn't come back from the rain shower yet.

"A… A… ACHOO!" Sam sneezed violently.

Sam was still wearing the white coat Gary had handed to her, but she had to admit, it was getting really cold. She unconsciously shivered, and hugged her knees even tighter.

_You know you want to help her. _A voice in Gary's head egged him. _You know that despite all this fighting, you're starting to feel something for her. _The voice sounded like a whisper, and Gary was starting to get annoyed. _And most of all, you know that she's really cute, and that you'd just love to put your arms around her to stop the cold- _"STUPID VOICES, LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gary yelled.

Sam looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Is the silence finally driving you crazy?" she whispered, voice hoarse. _DAMN! I can't even speak! This cough is driving me crazy!_

Gary rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sam. Maybe because you are underneath the same tree?" he said.

"Oh, shut up, Oak. (sniff) I think, for one, that you are infecting _yourself._" She replied.

Just then, a harsh wind blew through the woods. Now, a storm inside the woods is probably very random, but hey. An author's gotta live.

Sam shuddered, and her teeth started chattering together. "G-G-G-Gary… it's c-c-c-c-cold…" she mumbled, nearly biting off her tongue in the process.

Gary wrapped his arms around himself, also feeling the bitter cold. "I know…" he said, not as vulnerable to the cold as Sam.

Suddenly, he heard a strange sound, one he thought he'd never hear from Sam. I mean, this is Sam we're talking about.

She whimpered, and hugged herself tighter. "G-G-G-Garyyyy…" she said, almost pleading.

Gary bit his lip. It was freezing. And he knew it, too. _If I do what I have in mind, I'll be helping myself, and it won't be because of whatever this crazy voice in my head thinks. Yeah. _He stood up, and walked over to her, and sat down next to her.

The combination of hard rain and cold winds did badly to Sam. Her lips were blue, and she wasn't thinking. Well, she was, so we could tell that she was still alive…

Gary gently pulled on her arm, so that they could get closer to the trunk. She obliged, taking his hand. Gary blushed, but didn't let go. _SHE'S NOT THINKING RIGHT! She's holding my hand because… because she's not thinking right and the cold froze her brains!_

They reached the tree trunk, and then Gary and Sam just sat there, not exactly knowing what to do. Suddenly, another harsh wind blew through the tree (and the author has no idea if that is right grammar or whatever) and this time, for real, Sam, on instinct, scooted towards the nearest person there, and cuddled with him. Instinct, people, instinct.

"Uhhh… Sam?" Gary asked, as Sam positioned herself in Gary's arms.

Okay. So Gary's arm was now around Sam's shoulder. Sam was kinda leaning on Gary's chest. And let's not forget the fact that Sam's arms are wrapped around Gary.

Like I said.

INSTINCT.

Inferno was amused. Wearing her heated, three-padded, wool jacket (an invention of the brightest minds of Team Magma) she had no feel whatsoever in the cold, and neither did her adorable Poochyena. "They really love each other." She concluded. "It's almost like a soap opera."

Poochyena barked, wanting to battle already, from inside her cute heated, three-padded, wool doggie jacket.

Inferno shushed her. "If they hear us, the game'll be up. Don't worry, honey. The Holder of Spirits will be Team Magma's soon. And I'll be the one to hand her over to Maxie."

Sam had fallen asleep in the five minutes that had passed, and Gary was at a loss for words.

Our favorite main character and the author's number one anime crush in the entire frikkin universe blinked. _Who knew this would happen. _He asked himself. He was practically ripped in two. One half, the half that was arrogant and show-offy (in Sam's words), didn't like this. It was an annoyance and a waste of time, when Gary could be in Rustburo by now. But Gary's other half, the surprisingly sweet version of him, kinda… liked it.

Just then, the sun started shining, and the winds ceased.

It makes you readers wonder that if Gary had realized that he liked Sam, even a little bit, sooner, the whole storm episode would've just stopped. But then again, where's the fun in that?

Sam stirred. "God, it's like, so hot." She mumbled. She opened her eyes, and saw Gary right in front of her. "OHMYGOD, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN FRONT OF MY FACE?!"

She practically sprinted away from him, and positioned herself far, far, faaaaar away from him. "ANSWER ME!" she screeched.

Gary held his hands open, in front of him. "You were the one who came to me in the first place!"

Sam glared at him. "Why… on earth… do you think that I'd come to you?"

Gary stared at her, amazed. _She doesn't remember anything. _"I'm telling the truth! It was freezing, and you had a cold, and then you just started snuggling up to me like I was… well I don't know!"

Sam blushed. "I DON'T SNUGGLE!"

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "Right."

"Tree, treecko tree!!!" Treecko came running up to them, apparently happy that it rained.

"Hi, baby!!!" Sam cooed and scooped him up in her arms. "You like the rain?"

Treecko nodded.

"Sorry to mess up this sweet little reunion, but I'm kinda paid to do that." The lady from Team Magma, which we know as Inferno, but Sam and Gary don't know, appeared in front of them, smirking.

Inferno had long blond hair up to her mid back, slightly wavy. She had cold grey eyes, and was short – probably shorter than Sam. "I'm Inferno, of Team Magma."

"I've heard of Team Magma." Gary said, now standing, and glared at her. "You want to take over the world using Groudon, that legendary Pokemon."

"Give the boy a prize." Inferno said sarcastically. "Anyway, that's not what we're doing – yet."

Sam stared at her. Why did some voice in the back of her head tell her to run away?

"What do you want?" Gary asked.

"Purple." She smirked.

Sam thought that she was stating a color, but by the way Gary leaned towards Sam's direction, (keep in mind that Sam is now far away from Gary) almost protectively, made her realize that this lady was talking about _her_.

"Don't you dare." Gary said, eyes narrowing.

"Poochyena! You know what to do!" Inferno called out, a smug grin on her face.

"Mudkip, Water Gun!" Gary brought out Mudkip, who blasted the incoming Poochyena away.

Inferno smirked. "You see, that's why I always bring back-up! All of you! Mommy trained you for this, so let's go!"

Four other Poochyena, with a much bigger Mightyena, appeared, snarling. "Tackle! Now!"

"Mudkip, brace yourself!" Gary yelled, but froze, when the five of them started heading towards Sam. _She wouldn't. _Gary thought, frozen. "Mudkip, Water Gun!"

"Poochyena, Tackle!" Inferno directed the other one, the first Poochyena, to tackle Mudkip.

"Mudkip, no!" Gary gaped. What was he going to do? Help Sam, or keep this nutcase busy? "Umbreon, help Mudkip out!"

"Bre-breon!!" _Thanks for disturbing my nap- heyyy, a battle!_

"Treecko! Bullet Seed!" Sam yelled from the other side.

With an evil grin, Inferno said, "Mightyena, Roar."

Sam gasped. "No!" But Treecko had disappeared in a flash of red light. "Treecko!"

Inferno smiled. "This is over, Purple. Mightyena, Tackle!!!"

She backed away, slowly, until she felt the tree trunk against her back. _Will it hurt? _She thought childishly, and closed her eyes.

"Sam, no!" Sam opened her eyes to Gary's voice and saw him rushing towards her, at the same time while Mightyena was charging towards her.

"Gary, don't do it-"

"Do me a favor and shut up already!" Gary yelled.

Sam closed her eyes, knowing that it would hurt, no matter what happened.

She heard the pain before she saw it. She opened her eyes, and saw Gary's grimace of pain. He was standing in front of her, facing towards her, arms spread out. "Gary…" she whispered.

Mightyena growled, surprised that it hadn't worked, and apparently, so was Inferno. "No! No, no, no, no, NO!" she yelled. "Maxie's gonna kill me!" She stared at Sam. "You just watch it, Purple! You'll be hearing from us! Return!" All of Inferno's Pokemon went back in their balls.

"Oh yeah? Well I'll make you wish that you wouldn't in the first place!" Sam yelled back. Inferno gve her a little mock salute as she disappeared in the shadows.

Gary fell to his knees. (Admit it, a full-charged tackle from a Mightyena should hurt.) He hissed.

"Oh god, Gary, please tell me you're alright." Sam said as she kneeled down, so that they could be eye level. "We've got to get you to a hospital."

"Breon?" _Is he okay?_

Sam glanced over at Mudkip and Umbreon, and saw that they were pretty beat. "And I've gotta get you guys to a Pokemon Center."

A movement caught her eye, and she noticed Gary taking two Pokeballs from his belt. "You guys… did great." He mumbled, and they were gone in a flash of light.

"Oh, Gary!!!" Sam grinned, and threw her arms around him. "I thought you were like, seriously injured or something!!"

Gary gave a weak laugh. "Well, I don't go down that easily." He sighed. "It hurts, though."

Sam bit her lip. "Can you get up?" she asked, withdrawing her arms. "Rustburo should be pretty close."

Gary tried, but couldn't stand up. Sam smiled encouragingly at him, and slipped his arm around her shoulders, and supported him. "Sam, don't-"

She shushed him. "I'm a pretty strong girl." She smiled, and they started walking towards Rustburo. Gary mumbled something as they walked, and Sam blushed. She didn't know if he was delusional, or just serious.

"What do you mean, _you failed?_" Maxie's voice vibrated with anger as Inferno appeared before him.

"Sir, this was an entirely different scenario! The boy would go to lengths for her!" Inferno protested.

"They aren't children, Inferno! What made you hold back?" Maxie hissed.

"I wasn't holding back!" Inferno yelled.

"Very well." Maxie said, narrowing his eyes at her. "You must rest, Inferno. We will be attempting another capture soon. And this time…" he said, turning his back on her. "You are not going to fail."

Sam sat, uneasy, in the waiting room of the Rustburo hospital. It turned out that they weren't far from Rustburo after all, and had reached their hospital in ten minutes.

"Garret?" a doctor came out of the room in front of her, and smiled. "Your friend is fine. He just needs to rest, and I trust that you can make sure of that?" he said with a knowing smiled. "You took great care of him coming here, Miss."

She grinned back. "Just Sam, Doctor. May I see him?"

"Sure. But I think he's asleep." He said.

Sam entered the room, quiet. She saw her protector asleep on the hospital bed, and she smiled. _He's a nice guy, really. _She went closer to the bed, close to his head, and sat down on a chair. "Gary… thank you." She whispered.

Then Gary mumbled something in his sleep, the same thing, in fact, that he had told Sam when they were walking here.

"_The things I would do for you, Sam, just so that I won't lose you…"_

**

Wheee! My longest chapter ever! So far! Hahahaha!

Two OC's submitted to me will be revealing themselves in the next chapter, and I think I might slip Skye in, so watch out for it!

I have no idea if there's a hospital in Rustburo, but there's gotta be one, right?

Sam's starting to fall for Gary, even if she doesn't know it, while Gary's having a hard time admitting it to himself. I already know what I'm going to write for the last chapter, which is a long time from now, but don't worry.

Anyone guess what Sam's purpose in the story is? I'm sure that no one is going to get it – at least until the end, or when I decide.

Another trivia – Gary is also on a secret mission here. Which, again, I won't reveal until the time is right. Whoopee.

Appearing in the next Chapter:

A Cameo of DREW, ROXANNE, HARLEY, AND MAY!


	5. Purple's Friends

"Oh, for the love of Celebi, Gary, would you just lie down and take your pain relievers already?!" Sam screeched as Gary sat, stubborn, on the hospital bed.

Yes, that's right folks, Gary can't be discharged yet. The poor boy.

"It was just a Tackle from a Mightyena, Sam…" he said, protesting weakly.

"THAT NEARLY GOT YOU KILLED!"

"They may fight a lot, but I swear, those two look so _cute _together." The nurse whispered to the doctor, who nodded in agreement.

Gary rolled his eyes. "It doesn't hurt anymore!!!" he said.

"Yeah, I so believe that Gary. I did before the doctors told me that the force could've cracked your spine!"

"It doesn't matter-"

"Gary, I don't think that Pokemon trainers are paralyzed from the waist down. You _want _to kill yourself, _don't you_?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Okay, fine, I'm taking them already!" Gary said, and grabbed the two pills in Sam's outstretched hand. He popped them in his mouth, and swallowed, after taking a drink of water. "Happy?"

"Very." Sam smirked.

"Sam?" the doctor gestured for her to come closer. When she complied, he smiled at her. "You are probably the only person in the world who can take care of Gary Oak. And for that, I congratulate you." He laughed.

"He just needs discipline, doc." She laughed. "Anyway, I know he's itching to get out of here, when can he be discharged?"

"Maybe later in the evening?" he said. "It depends, if he just stays still and lets us poke him and check up on him every once in a while." The doctor said.

"Oh, Lugia help us." Sam sighed. "Getting him to stay still is like capturing an Articuno in a net. It isn't possible. And he's whineier than typical three-year-olds."

"Knowing you, I'm sure you could do it."

"Well, then, I guess I have to get him to sleep now." Sam said, looking down.

The nurse smiled at her gently. "You've been in the hospital overnight, dear, you should take a day off." She shook her head. "It's as if I'm talking to a fellow nurse or something."

Sam laughed. "Really?"

The nurse nodded. "I'll inject him with anesthesia again if I have to." She smirked. "Besides, I think your Pokemon need rest. His too."

"Yeah… well, thanks!" Sam grinned. "Gary, I'm gonna bring Umbreon and Mudkip to the Pokemon Center, okay?"

"Mm."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Typical, stereotype _male_." She mumbled under her breath.

"You wanted to see me, Maxie?" a man clad in blue, white and black asked, as he reclined in his usual chair.

Maxie entered the room, clothed in red and black, with fiery red hair. "Yes, Archie. It seems that the girl is not aware of her gift."

Archie chuckled. "She isn't? I would've assumed that Samuel had told her already."

"It appears that he sent some guardian or what to help her." Maxie narrowed his eyes as he leaned against the wall. "He's good. And willing to sacrifice himself for her."

Archie stood up and walked over to Maxie. "I know what you're here for. You'd only come here for one thing." He smirked. "Truce, Maxie?"

"You know me, Archie. I will not have betrayal on my side."

"You know as well as I do that unless we work together, Kyogre and Groudon will never be ours to command."

Maxie nodded.

"Then I can assure you that I will not betray you, or any member of Team Magma. And you must do the same to me."

"Yes."

'Very well." Archie extended a long hand to a pair of chairs in the corner. "Shall we discuss our plan of action?"

Sam sighed as she walked through the busy streets of Rustburo. There were a lot of places to go to, yet she didn't feel it was fair. _Gary would love it here. _She thought, as she passed by the Trainer's Academy.

"SAMMIE? Oh Entei, it _is _you!" Sam turned her head to a familiar voice, and was attacked by someone wearing a bumblebee costume. Or so it looked like. "Sammie, Sammie, Sammie, I missed you!" the person gushed as she huggled (yes, huggled) Sam.

"Um…" _Wait. Only one person calls me 'Sammie'. _Sam grinned to herself as she hugged the person back. "Julia Evergreen, it's been such a long time!!"

The bumblebee girl laughed and leaned away from her. She had green eyes and straight, waist-long golden blonde hair. She was a bit taller than Sam. She was wearing a black, short-sleeved blouse, a yellow skort, black leggings that were tucked into yellow rain boots, and yellow elbow length gloves under black wrist length fingerless gloves. "What in Entei's name are you doing here, Sammie?"

Sam grinned. "Well, I was with my friend, and well, we're traveling and stuff."

Julia laughed; it was almost like the sound of wind chimes. "I can't believe you'd travel without me!" she winked. "Haven't seen you in Verdanturf for a while." She commented.

Sam shrugged. "I got busy." She rose her eyebrow at her "What are _you _doing here?"

Julia's eyes lighted up. "Two words: Pokemon Contest."

"Oh, I see! So I take it that you're this super-awesome coordinator now!" Sam smiled at her fourteen-year-old practical sister. Sam and Julia had become friends during the short two years of time that Sam had been living with her grandparents in Verdanturf and schooling there. Julia was the odd one out there. Back then, when they were nine, Julia's hair was frizzy. Sam was drawn to Julia's 'I-so-don't-freaking-care-about-what-you-think-about-me' attitude, and the two became friends. Sam and Julia had left Verdanturf at the same time; Sam for Oldale, while Julia started training her Pokemon to be contest Pokemon.

"I just have two ribbons so far in this region." Julia grinned. "I have a contest tomorrow, d'you wanna watch it?"

"Sure!" Sam grinned.

"So, anyway, wanna get lunch or something? I mean, I haven't eaten yet." Julia smiled as she pulled out a comb and started brushing her luxurious hair.

"I haven't eaten either, but I'm due at the hospital in like three hours, so I guess it'll be okay." Sam shrugged.

"The hospital!" Julia exclaimed. "What in Entei's name have you been _doing_?"

"Gary got Tackled by a Mightyena, direct hit." She said, at a dry attempt at humor.

Julia's face contorted into an evil smile. "Gary, hm? So you've been traveling with a _boy_?"

Sam mentally slapped herself in the forehead. "We're just friends, Jules, and besides, we loathe each other." She thought for a minute. "Well, not that much, but you get the idea."

"Huh." Julia just smirked. "Anyway, there's a café close by. I've been here for about three days, just walking around and training my Pokemon."

"Hey, that reminds me!" Sam said, grinning. "Can I see your pokemon? I can bet that your Pokemon are in tip-top shape!"

"Well, I've been traveling around different regions for four years, so don't be surprised, okay?" she said, winking. "Come on out, everybody!"

Julia tossed out six Pokeballs, and out came a Steelix, Electabuzz, Gardevoir, and Beedrill. Sam gaped at all of them. "Wow."

Julia smiled gently at her, and reached out her hand to pet her Meganium. "We've been with each other for four or three years, Sam. I've trained them to be only the best." She winked. "What about your Pokemon?"

"Well." Sam said, sort of embarrassed. "My Pokemon are at the center, but they're Poochyena and Treecko."

Her friend didn't laugh, instead, her eyes lighted up. "Awesome! Those Pokemon'll grow up to be _beautiful _babies!"

Sam laughed. "Well, let's eat then."

"So you've already got five ribbons in Kanto and Jhoto each?" Sam asked, shocked. They were done eating, and were heading towards Rustburo.

Julia shrugged. "No big deal, anyway. I haven't won the Grand Festival in like, ever. That's a goal of mine."

"And you're not traveling with anyone?"

"Well, I was planning on traveling with-"

"Oh, Juliiiiia, there you are!" A girl wearing red, with a red bandana rushed up to them, a handsome Combusken by her side. "Drew and Harley have been looking all over for you!"

Julia shrugged, and then smirked. "Let them look." Julia glanced at Sam, and smiled. "May, this is my friend, Sam Garret. Sam, this is May. She's a fellow coordinator, like me."

Sam smiled shyly at May. "Hi."

May beamed at her. "Nice to meet you! So, are you just starting your journey?" she sat down at the table Julia and Sam were sharing, and Sam found out that she didn't mind. May was pretty likeable.

"Yeah… I couldn't start right away though, so here I am. And you?"

May grinned. "Three years on the road – alone."

"Whoa." Sam was impressed with her. Alone? That was so… cool.

"But I was in a group of four for like a year, I forgot. And then I usually meet up with other coordinators, so it's alright." May smiled at Sam.

"Finally." The three girls turned their heads towards a purple haired guy wearing something like a Cacturne costume, and a shorter boy with green hair with a smirk that was almost – _almost _– equal to Gary's. "We've been looking for you forever." The green haired boy sighed.

"Aw, just shut up, Drew, girls need other girls to talk to. Not you two." Julia said, rolling her eyes.

"Besides," Drew continued, flicking his hair. "You need to train, May, and you too, Julia, don't forget that."

May groaned "Gosh, Drew, you're such a spoilsport."

"We only want what's best for you!" Cacturne-man said, in an oddly feminine voice that was strange for a guy like him.

"Oh, by the way, Sam, the gigantic Cacturne is named Harley, and Mr. Spoilsport is Drew." Julia said, combing her hair again. "Sorry to leave you now, but the contest is tomorrow and, well…"

Sam understood. "Sure, sure! By the way, when's your contest? I am _so _watching."

"Three in the afternoon." Drew answered, interrupting Julia. "You see that coliseum there?" he pointed to the right. "That's where."

"Oh. Okay." Sam said, trying not to laugh at the murderous look on Julia's face.

May and Julia stood up from the table and waved back to her, and Sam stood up too, to hug Julia. "We are _so _going to talk and bond after the contest, Sammie." Julia whispered. "I have the biggest feeling that you have a lot to tell me."

Sam smirked as she entered Gary's hospital room. The nurse was at her side, muttering things about Gary. "Sam, I had to inject him with anesthesia _twice_. He kept asking where you were, what you were doing…" the nurse sighed. "Are you two going steady, or something?"

"Wh-WHAT?!" Sam screeched. She turned a bright red. "A-A-Are you _joking_ or something? We're not… we can't… I'm not…" she stuttered.

The nurse laughed. "It's okay, Sam, you don't have to answer." She gestured to two chairs on the opposite side of Gary's bed. The clock on the wall read 9:30 PM.

"Is he doing okay?" Sam said, all traces of the earlier blush gone.

"Well, he keeps moving, so it's not helping the recovery, but well, we made a breakthrough earlier, when he was sleeping. Tomorrow, you can take him… well, wherever you want to take him."

Sam smiled absently at Gary's sleeping form. The nurse noticed this and rose her eyebrow. "And why are you looking at him like that, hm?"

Sam blushed again. "He looks so innocent when he's sleeping."

"You know you love him." The nurse stated, smiling knowingly at her.

"Huh." Sam said, saying a non-committal grunt. She couldn't say that she loved him.

But yet…

She couldn't say that she _didn't _love him.

Archie hissed.

"Now, now, Archie, just listen to what the boy has to say." Maxie said smoothly, rolling his eyes.

A boy entered the room, his face covered by a shadow. "Maxie, Archie." He greeted them coolly, an unreadable tone in his voice. "The Holder of Spirits and her companion are in Rustburo City. The boy has been hurt pretty badly."

"Now would be the time to strike." Archie said, excitement getting into his voice, despite himself.

Maxie cast a sharp look at Archie. "Don't you think that the two of them would be more on their guard now that they know that we're after her?"

"I don't blame them for being on guard." Archie smirked. "Since it _was_ a member of Team Magma that told the girl we were looking for her."

"Not a word about my team, Archie." Maxie warned him. Maxie turned to the boy. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"There is something you should know, now that I think about it."

"Hm? And what would that be?"

A flash of light reflected against the glint of the boys perfectly white teeth. "She can't get _enough _of me."

Sam woke up the next morning, since someone was blowing warm air into her face. "The _hell_, Gary?" Sam mumbled. "Did you eat fish or something while I was gone?"

A quiet laugh was his reply. Sam sleepily opened her eyes to find herself face-to-face with Gary. "YARGH!" she screamed.

Gary rolled his eyes. "You've been doing that a lot lately, you know that?"

Sam growled at him. "Yeah, and so what? You've been annoying me for like, a week now. So I guess you'll have to get used to it." She hissed.

"Can I get out of this sanitized place yet?" Gary said, changing the subject.

"I guess you can." Sam shrugged. "But we're consulting the doctor first, okay?"

Gary sighed.

"Gary, for the last time, in the name of all that's legendary, you can't stress yourself with a battle with Roxanne!" Sam said, narrowing her eyes at him. Sure, the doctor had said he could go out, but NO GYM BATTLES. Gary had insisted on not using a wheelchair, and Sam was relieved – pushing Gary around in a wheelchair would be entertaining, priceless and blackmail-worthy, but tiring.

"But-"

"No." She said, giving him a Death Glare. "I swear, if you set _foot_ in that Gym today, I will send you back to 'that sanitized place' and you won't be able to move for _months_!"

Gary grumbled. "Fine, fine. But what were you planning to do this morning, anyway?"

"My childhood friend is participating in a contest today." Sam said. "Who knows, maybe the beauty and grace of it all will convert you." She said, smirking at him.

She walked ahead, smiling smugly to herself. Gary smiled a genuine smile as she started walking towards the coliseum. _Stop making me feel weird, Sam…_

Sam sat forward, excited, in her chair, while Gary slumped back in his, bored and uninterested. Well, let's rephrase that. He _was _interested and he _wasn't _bored, but that was only because Sam was with him.

"And now, I would like to announce the beginning of the Rustburo Special Ribbon Contest! The mechanics of this contest is that this ribbon isn't needed to enter in the Grand Festival which will be in Lilycove this year, instead, this ribbon is a special pass to join the Contest Frontier! More details about that later. The ribbon is given to the top four ranking coordinators today, and for others who failed to get a ribbon, another Special Ribbon Contest will be held in Mauville City in a week, another in Lavaridge City the next week, and the last chance will be two weeks after the Lavaridge Special Ribbon Competition in Sootopolis City!" the emcee smiled at everyone as they cheered. "I am your emcee, Caitlyn, and your judges are…"

Gary poked Sam in the shoulder. "Where's your friend?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"How should I know?" Sam said, hissing.

"Hey. Didn't expect you two to be contest-watchers." A familiar voice said.

"SKYE!" Sam grinned, and turned to her right. "Hey, you made it to Rustburo!"

Skye sat in the chair to Sam's left, and smiled a genuine smile at her. "Well, yeah, but that was only because you're here." He said innocently enough. But of course, Gary knew better.

Sam blushed, then grinned at him. "Yeah right!" she said, brushing it off.

"The first contestant is Sandra Fischer of New Bark Town!" The emcee announced. "Let the preliminary rounds begin!"

A girl with long black hair ponytailed to the side came out on the stage, a grin on her face. "Come on out, Glalie!"

Sam, Skye and Gary watched with fascination as they watched Sandra and her Glalie make an ice sculpture of Agatha of the Elite Four, Danny and his Charizard make fireworks, Claire and her Vileplume make pretty colors (according to Sam), and various coordinators use a variety of Pokemon.

"And now, Julia Evergreen of Verdanturf!" the emcee announced.

Julia, her confidence showing through her posture, stepped onto the stage, and smirked. "Show them what you got, Beedrill!" she called out.

Murmurs echoed throughout the audience. Not a lot of people favored bug Pokemon, and they were confused.

"Julia's decided on her Beedrill! An interesting choice for a contest!" The emcee said, eyes wide.

Julia just smirked. "Beedrill, honey, let's show them your Poison Sting." She said, throwing out her hands.

"Beedrill, Bee!" Beedrill shot out a Poison Sting, which spread through out the stage at rapid speed. Julia closed her eyes. "Beedrill, Agility, then use Steel Wing!" she said, smiling.

Beedrill's wings turned steel-hard, and zoomed across the stage, slamming its wings into every sting that was visible. The light coming off of his wings shimmered as Beedrill zigzagged.

The Poison Sting attack shattered, creating silver dust all around the stage, and it seemed prettier with the light.

And it was over – Beedrill happily perched itself on its master's shoulder. Julia bowed, a grin on her face.

A loud and roaring applause filled the coliseum. Sam's yells and whistles were the loudest. "That's my best friend! Julia, you were great!"

"And let's see what the judges think Julia's score should be…" the emcee said, glancing at the score board.

**100**

Julia jumped up, a wide grin on her face. "A perfect score! The first so far!" the emcee yelled to the crowd.

Sam grinned as she leapt into Julia's arms after the contest. "I knew you would win! You won, and you're the best!!" Sam squealed.

Julia laughed. "I'm glad you think that way." She said. Julia, May, Drew, and another coordinator had made it to the final four, and Julia had won against May, while Drew beat the other coordinator, and Julia had beat Drew.

"By the way, Julia, this is Gary." Sam said, smiling at her 'companion'. Gary stepped forward, and nodded his head a little.

"Nice show." He said coolly.

"Thanks." Julia said. "So _you're _the one Sam keeps talking about."

"Huh?" Gary said, confused.

"Don't listen to her, Gary!" Sam yelled. "Juliaaaaa!"

Julia laughed, tossing back her perfect hair over her shoulder. "It was nice seeing you again, Sam." She said. "And now, I have to go onwards to Mauville." She sighed. "I'm with Drew, May, and Harley, and as you can see, Harley didn't get the ribbon, so…" she left the sentence unfinished. "Are you and Gary, like, a couple now?"

"NO!" they said at exactly the same time.

"Huh. Well, then, I guess that it's that blonde guy who was talking to you earlier." She said, referring to Skye.

"She definitely isn't dating _him_." Gary snarled.

The girls looked at him, surprised. "You jealous, Gary?" Julia asked, a smug smile on her face.

Gary just glared at them and walked in the other direction. Sam rolled her eyes. "Typical, stereotype male." She sighed.

"Don't worry, Sam, I'm sure he'll pull through." Julia said reassuringly.

"What are you talking about?" Sam was confused.

"You two are going to fall for each other some day, I'm sure of it!"

Sam blushed furiously. "I don't feel that way about him!"

Julia had that knowing look on her face. "But how do you know he doesn't feel the same way?"

**

Okay. I really think that was my worst chapter. It felt kind of… off? I don't know.

Well, well, well, it seems that there's a spy lurking. Honestly, it wouldn't take a genius to figure who it is, but it also doesn't make you a dunce not to know. ;)

Distant-Moon. There's Julia!

Your Romeo. I'm thinking of putting your OC in the next chapter. :D

REVIEWERS: I LOVE YOU ALL. HUGGLES.

I know I said that Roxanne would be in here, and that there would be another OC in here. I couldn't exactly fit them in right now, and besides, I really sucked at this chapter.

UGHH.

Oh well, if you still love my story, then I guess you could press that little button over there.

And if you agree with me on my take that the story frikkin sucks, then don't worry, I'll be better in the next one – I promise that everything will be like 800 percent good.

Well, maybe.

:D

See ya.


	6. Gym Battle Purpleness

"Here we are." Sam said cheerfully. The heroine and our beloved Gary stood in front of the Gym, admiring it. Sam wouldn't admit it, but her first gym battle… her first battle, for crying out loud… she was kinda nervous.

"Yup." Gary said, bored.

"And we're going in now."

"Yup."

"We're going to get our Gym Badges today."

"Yup."

Sam turned to Gary. "You _do _know that this is important for me, right?"

"Yup."

Sam groaned. "Is that _all_ you're going to say _all day_?!"

"Yu- Nope." Gary said, catching himself.

"Oh, let's just get inside the stupid gym already." Sam grumbled, and grabbed his elbow.

They marveled at the spacious gym, and Gary had to admit – it was one of the better Gyms. "So." Gary said, trying to start a conversation. "Who's going to start first?"

Sam looked at him in shock. "You're not implying that _I _should be the first one to go against Roxanne? NO WAY! I… haven't even _battled _yet!"

"Shut up, Sam, I know you'll do fine." Gary said, meaning the words. "I know that you can do it."

Sam blushed, then turned her back on him. "Oh, just quit the sappy comments when I know you're just being nice." She turned around, and smirked. "Oh wait a minute. _You_? Being _nice_? Never mind that comment."

Gary rolled his eyes. "There you go again! I'm _trying _to become friends with you, and then you push me away." He smirked. "Besides, not a lot of girls can resist my charm." He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sam punched him in the shoulder. "You are _so _full of yourself, you know that?"

"You didn't say you didn't fall for my charm…" Gary said, sing-songingly.

Sam blushed furiously. "You JERK! I'll show you _charm_!"

An amused laugh came from the other side of the gym. "You two are quite the couple!"

Sam and Gary turned their heads to the voice and saw a middle-ish height woman, with dark brown hair. She wore a pink hair clip, pinning back her bangs, and at the same time tying her hair into a ponytail. **(A/N: Guys, I'm not sure, and I don't remember, if Roxanne has two ponytails or one. So let's just make it one, okay? Tell me if I'm wrong.) **She wore a suit (the girl kind), with pink stockings.

"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" Sam yelled. "God, everyone's telling that to me all of the sudden. Jeez."

The lady smiled. "Welcome to my Gym, by the way. I'm Roxanne." She smiled at them.

"Y-Y-You're the Gym Leader?" Sam said, eyes wide.

Roxanne laughed. "Yes, I am. And I take it that you want to challenge me?"

"Yup." Gary said.

Sam turned to him. "There you go again with that 'yup' thing!"

"And like you'd give a care of what I'd say!" Gary retorted.

Roxanne hid a smile behind her hand, and turned to two of her student – both male – "They are sooooo cute together!"

As Gary and Sam kept on bickering with each other, Roxanne got a thoughtful look on her face. _I can't possibly have two battles in one day. What if I try something new this time…? Yes, that should work. Besides, there's nothing in the rules that say I can't do anything like this._

Roxanne coughed 'inconspicuously', and both heads turned towards her. "I'm sure that the two of you want to get on to the next Gym Leader right away, so why don't we start now?"

"Sam's going first!"

"I AM NOT!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Hey, lovebirds!" One of Roxanne's students yelled. "Why don't you listen to teacher for a while?"

Roxanne smiled. "Anyways, I thought that since this might be Sam… Sam, right? Sam's first battle, and I can't really afford to have two battles in one day… why don't we make this a double battle?"

Sam's eyes widened, while Gary blinked. (Come on, you weren't expecting a big outburst from GARY, were you?) "A double battle?" Sam asked, cocking her head to the right.

"You will choose one of your Pokemon – each – while I'll use two of mine." Roxanne said, a smile on her face. _They don't admit that they like each other. But there's something there… and I'll find out what 'something' is during the battle._

**

Archie paced back and forth in the room which he and Maxie were currently occupying for this meeting, while Maxie stared at him. "I told her to be here at eleven." Archie said. "She will-"

Maxie sighed. "Honestly, Archie, what's the rush?"

"What's the rush? We're trying to take over the world and you ask me, _'what's the rush'_?!"

-knock-knock-

"Enter…" Maxie said in a calm and cold tone.

The doors opened and a medium-height girl with straight black hair up to her mid-back and blue eyes wearing the Team Aqua uniform showed up, out of breath. "Sorry, Archie, sir, and Maxie, but I was… well…"

"Then don't be late next time." Was Archie's cold reply.

The girl bowed down her head in shame.

Archie turned his head to Maxie. "This is Claire. She's the stealthiest among us, that and her Pokemon are experts skilled in tracking down someone."

Maxie's brows creased. "I thought you said we could rely on the boy."

"Rely? On him?" Archie laughed. "You _know _we can't trust him."

"He is like a son to me, Archie. I don't feel the same you do; obviously." Maxie said, voice unusually furious.

"The boy doesn't know any better." Archie said, dismissing the look on Maxie's face. "If I were him, I'd betray us sooner or later."

"But you _aren't _the boy." Maxie said. "That's the point." He turned to Claire. "We'll need you later, but not now. Sorry for the disturbance."

As Claire exited the room, Archie turned to Maxie. "You have no right to dismiss members of my team like that!"

Maxie smirked. "I have very good reasons for that, Archie. You see… the boy has picked up something very interesting… and I'd rather talk to you about it alone."

**

"Ready?" Roxanne said, a confident smile on her face, after explaining to them that the battle would be taped.

"More than ready." Gary replied.

"Jeez, could you be any more full of yourself?" Sam snapped.

Roxanne laughed. "Send out your Pokemon already!"

Sam sighed. "Treecko!" In a flash of light, Treecko came out.

"Mudkip!" Mudkip also joined the battle.

Roxanne rose her eyebrows. "Nice choices. But as you'll find out later in the battle, type isn't exactly the key to all battles." She smiled, and withdrew two Pokeballs. "Geodude! Nosepass! Let's do this!"

"Mudkip, Water Gun at Geodude!" Gary commanded.

Sam groaned. "Fine! Leave the tough one to me!" she yelled sarcastically. "Treecko, Quick Attack, confuse Nosepass!"

"Nosepass, try Zap Cannon on Treecko!"

Treecko zoomed around Nosepass, who was slow as he was hard, and tried to lock in on Treecko, but found that he couldn't. _Time to take out her Treecko. _Roxanne thought, biting her lip.

"Geodude, Rollout on Treecko!"

Gary's eyes widened. "Mudkip, stand in front of Treecko and use a full-powered Water Gun!"

Roxanne couldn't stop her Geodude in mid-roll, so she decided just to wait and see what would happen. In the meantime… "Nosepass, use Stomp on Mudkip!"

"Treecko, Pound!" Sam commanded. With a swish of Treecko's tail, Nosepass stumbled backwards. It was a pretty hard attack.

Meanwhile, Mudkip had let out another Water Gun, and Geodude suffered a direct hit and slammed into the wall. "Nice one, Gary!"

"It's not over yet." Gary said quietly, as Geodude slowly got up again.

"Geo, geo!"

Sam bit her lip. "Gary, our problem is that Nosepass. It's at a very high level, and –"

"Since when do you give the orders?" Gary said, smirking at her. Ignoring Sam's look of shock and fury, he called out to Mudkip. "Mudkip, Tackle Nosepass!"

"Geodude, Rock Throw! Nosepass…." Roxanne smirked. "Thunder Wave."

"Ah!" Gary said, not knowing what to do.

"Treecko, get Mudkip out of the way using your Quick Attack!" Sam yelled, as Treecko started dodging Geodude's Rock Throw.

"Tree, treecko tree!" Treecko sped up and slammed itself into Mudkip, and they both evaded Nosepass's Thunder Wave.

"Thanks, Sam." Gary mumbled.

Sam smirked. "No problem."

Roxanne smiled. This was getting to be a really good battle. _So far, I know that both of them would protect the other, no questions asked, so going at them one-on-one would be murder. No, I'll have to take out one using both of my Pokemon. _She decided. "Alright, Nosepass, Rock Tomb on Mudkip!"

"Treecko, get ready." Sam smiled. "I know that you can do this."

Treecko nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" Gary asked, confused.

"Oh, you'll see." Sam said airily.

Sam was actually very good with planning, something she had learned from Julia 'back in the days'. Planning ahead, especially during battles, was her strong point. And she knew from the beginning that this would happen sooner or later. Roxanne was trying to get Mudkip trapped so that Treecko could go after Mudkip, then Geodude would pound on her Treecko. "Treecko, when I say now, you know what to do."

"Mudkip use – oh no!" Gary yelled, as Mudkip got trapped in the rocks.

"Mud! Mud, mudkip!" Mudkip started struggling, then started hurting – real badly.

"Now!" Sam yelled. "Treecko, Quick Attack into Bullet Seed then Pound!"

Gary and Roxanne blinked in surprise. That was a pretty good combo. Treecko sped up and started zigzagging around Nosepass, while shooting out seeds from its mouth. Nosepass was having a hard time locking in on Treecko, and was getting confused.

"Now, build up your strength." Sam said, a smile on her face. "Then Pound!"

"Treeeee… Ko, Treecko!" Treecko jumped up, spun, and landed a direct hit on Nosepass.

Nosepass stumbled backwards from the blow, and fell, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Sam held her breath.

"Nosepass is unable to battle!"

Roxanne was shocked. "Nosepass… return." She said, with a smile on her face. "Don't think you've won yet." She smirked. "Geodude, be a darling and use Rollout on Treecko?"

"Geo, geo!"

"Ah!" Sam panicked. Treecko was tired after that attack. She bit her lip. What was she going to do!?

"Mudkip, get out of there! Water Gun!" Gary yelled. The force of Mudkip's Water Gun blew apart the rocks, and in turn, hit Geodude.

"Thanks, Gary." Sam said quietly.

"No prob." He smirked arrogantly.

Sam shook her head and sighed. He'd never change. "Right. Treecko, ready for one last Bullet Seed?" Treecko nodded. "Right, let's aim it at Geodude!"

"Geodude, Rollout again!!" Roxanne yelled.

"What?" Sam said, eyes wide. Then she realized what was happening a few seconds too late. The Bullet Seed would ricochet off of Geodude at that rolling speed. _Damn. Damn. Damn._

Treecko flew into the air and into the wall as Geodude made its mark. "Treecko is unable to battle!" Sam bit her lip. "It's up to you, Gary." She said, as she returned Treecko into his ball. Gary smirked.

"Do you actually think I'm losing this one?"

Sam stuck her tongue out at him. "Just start battling already."

Meanwhile, Roxanne was examining her Geodude from where she was standing. _He's tired. Geodude is finished if Mudkip can hold its own for a while. I have to finish it with this one shot. _"Geodude! Mega Punch, now!"

"Mudkip, dodge!" Gary said, eyes cold and intent on battle. _Sam's first badge depends on me… if I lose this battle… _Gary's lips tightened into a straight line. _I'm going to win this… for her._

Mudkip dodged, as Geodude pounded into the floor. "Mud!" Roxanne bit her lip. It wasn't going good for Roxanne, and she knew it.

"Geodude, Rollout, let's go!"

Gary yelled at Mudkip. "This is it, Mudkip! Charge right in and when you're close enough, use Water Gun!"

Sam gasped. "Gary, are you trying to kill our chances of a badge?"

"Look, just trust me, okay?" Gary turned to her and smiled, a real genuine smile. Sam blushed.

_UGH! Stop it, stupid brain! Stop thinking that there's meaning to what he's saying! Stop thinking that his smile is so incredibly… ARRRGH!_

Mudkip ran forward, then about a second before impact, used Water Gun.

A cloud of smoke filled the arena. Everyone in the gym covered their eyes. When the smoke cleared, Roxanne, Gary, and Sam looked eagerly to see who had won.

Geodude was breathing heavily, but it looked pretty beat up, while Mudkip lay on the floor, twitching. Gary blinked in surprise. _No…_

Sam bit her lip. _Come on, fight the urge to kill Gary… people make mistakes…_

"Mudkip is – "

"Stop!" Roxanne called out. "You know, as well as I do," she said, looking at the referee, "That the battle isn't over until the other Pokemon stops moving completely!"

"Right. Sorry, teacher…" the referee said, ashamed.

Gary hoped, with all his heart, that Roxanne hadn't wasted her breath in correcting her student. Sure, his Mudkip was still trying its' hardest to get up, but it didn't look as if it would succeed any time soon.

Sam gasped just as Gary turned his head to the side. He heard the smile in her voice. "Gary, look!"

Mudkip was standing, well, half-standing, its two front legs pushing up its body with all its strength. "Mud… Mudkip mud-mud… kip… Mudkip mud…" Mudkip muttered to himself. _–I got up… Just like Umbreon said I should…I gotta do it… so that Sam will be happy with Gary…-_

Meanwhile, Geodude was still breathing hard. Roxanne didn't want to call out an order that might bring its downfall. "Geodude, are you okay?"

"Geo." Geodude replied, nodding a bit.

"Mudkip!" Gary called. "Good! Can you use tackle on Geodude?"

Mudkip stood up straight, its hind legs wobbly, but still standing strong. "Mud! Mudkip!" It charged towards the weakened Geodude.

"Geodude!" Roxanne yelled. _No choice. I have to. _"Mega Punch again!" Geodude concentrated power in its right hand, and threw the punch at Mudkip.

"Mudkip! Jump up now and Tackle it from the air!"

Mudkip's face was a look of shock and 'Oh, Umbreon Owes Me Big Time'. He sighed, and jumped as far as his weak legs would allow him.

"Geo!"

Geodude was caught by surprise, and could only look up as Mudkip landed a _very _hard Tackle on him.

**

"That's interesting." Archie said, smirking. "But there's a teeny problem about that. How in the world are we going to separate them?"

Maxie smiled, a confident smile on his face as he drummed his fingers on the table top. "I've got him working on it already."

**

Roxanne smiled, unable to stop herself. "That was a great battle." She stressed, as she returned the fallen Geodude to his ball. "You two are a great team, you know that?"

She stepped down from her platform.

Sam stared in shock. _Did we just win? I… I can't believe it! _She looked at Gary, who was cradling his Mudkip in his arms and was acting very un-Gary like. A smile spread across her face. _Even if he probably won this battle just for himself… he kinda did it for me… _

"That was great, Mudkip, now you rest, okay?" he clicked the button on the Pokeball and returned the Pokeball to his bag. "Sam-"

Sam turned around and hugged him tightly, placing her arms around his neck. "ThankyouGarythatwasawesomenowIhavemyfirstbadgethankyouGarythankyouGaryIlo-" Sam blushed. She hadn't meant to say that, no way.

Luckily for her, Gary was too in shock by the sudden contact that he didn't hear Sam 'accidentally' saying things she knew she'd regret in the future. "I… I… I…"

"Gary?" Sam rose an eyebrow at him. Gary was still in shock, and I mean, come on people, who wouldn't be in shock? "Hell-ooo?"

"I… I… I…"

Roxanne had finally made her way over to the opposite side of the arena, still smiling, holding out two badges. "I am honored to present you two with this badge."

Sam let go of Gary and accepted her badge. "Awesome…" she whispered.

"I… I… I…"

Roxanne looked at Sam with a 'look'. "Don't look at me!!" Sam protested.

**

Sam and Gary walked out of the Pokemon Center. Unfortunately, they'd have to be staying in Rustburo for one more day… The damage on Mudkip was major, and Treecko was hurt pretty bad also… Sam sighed as she half-dragged Gary out of the Pokemon Center.

_Flashback_

"_Oh! Why, I thought you'd be gone by now!" Nurse Joy said as Sam and a still-shocked Gary walked into the Pokemon Center. _

"_Well, our Pokemon took a pretty bad beating by Roxanne, but we made it out in the end." Sam managed a smile._

_Nurse Joy got a look at Gary. "Is he okay?"_

_Sam sighed. "You really don't want to know." _

"_I… I… I…"_

_End of Flashback_

"Come on, Gary, you can't be spacing out like this for long…" Sam muttered to herself, half to Gary.

"I… I… I…"

"HEY!" a familiar voice caught Sam's attention. "Sammie! I thought you were gone already! Thank god you're here!"

"Julia?" Sam turned around to see Julia approaching her, May following. "And May? What are you guys still doing here?"

"We were invited to this awesome contest. And it has nothing to do with Pokemon." May said.

"And we kinda entered you and Gary in it." Julia smirked.

"I… I… I…"

"What's wrong with _him_?" May asked.

"Just skip it." Sam said impatiently. "What's this contest about, anyway?"

May and Julia smirked. "Well, think of it as a double battle." Julia said, choosing her words carefully. "I'm paired off with Harley." Julia made a face.

"And I'm paired off with Drew." May said, shuddering. "You're with Gary!"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Why do I have this _ugly _feeling that this is much more than it seems?"

Julia looked at her innocently. "What are you talking about?"

"JUST TELL ME ALREADY!" Sam yelled. Julia and May winced.

"Alright, alright!" Julia gave in, and she leaned in to whisper what they meant in Sam's ear.

Sam blinked once as Julia leaned away, smirking. "What…"

"I'm going to enjoy this." Julia said, grinning.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CUTEST COUPLE TRAINERS CONTEST?!"

***

Oh, boy. With a cliffhanger like that, you're bound know that there's going to be a whole lot of fun in the next chapter.

ALL WHO REVIEWED: Thanks for not saying that the last chapter was suckish, even if it was. –grins-

Fairy: Sure! You can still submit OC's, I don't mind, really!

Serpent's Ballet: I have a really good idea. But I'll need your help, PM me please.

Romeo: Hahaha. It's okay, really. It's great that you took time to press that button, though.

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!


	7. Purple Meep

"They did _what_?" Gary said, eyes widening as Sam winced. Sure, like five minutes ago, he snapped out of it, about ten minutes after Julia and May left.

"I don't want to repeat it, okay?" Sam said, annoyed. "Julia and May totally did it without me knowing, and trust me, I wouldn't do this if I had a choice, which I don't, and you were in a trance or something, you looked possessed, and then you couldn't say anything to protest or anything so of _course_ they assumed you agreed and they just walked away saying that the contest starts this afternoon at four which is in five hours and that they'd pick us up at the Pokemon Center at two so that we could get ready and I don't even freaking know what we're supposed to do, so you can imagine that I'm freaking out, and this is practically your fault, if you hadn't damaged your Mudkip so badly then we probably could have gotten out of this mess and we probably could've avoided all unnecessary embarrassment that comes with this day-"

Gary was politely listening to Sam's rant, and he concluded then that Sam couldn't stop talking if she was nervous or something. But then something caught his eye about six feet above Sam's head, and he got interested.

"-and do you even _think _I'd want to join a 'Cutest Couples' contest with you, I don't think so! This is going to be so embarrassing and I am so going to regret this in the future…" Sam paused for breath, and looked at Gary. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I kinda lost track after the, 'Julia and May totally did it without me knowing' part, so I just pretended to listen." Gary said, shrugging, still reading the thing above Sam's head.

Sam groaned. The blunt one strikes again. "Gary, if you're not listening, then maybe you could at least… try and help me get us out of this? Maybe we could sneak away at the last minute or something?" she said hopefully.

"No." he said simply, a smirk on his face.

"Ex-_cuse_ me? Do you actually _want _to be ridiculed?" Sam practically screamed in his face, drawing attention from people passing by them.

"Sam, most of the time, you can be so dense." He said, still smirking.

"What the hell are you talking about-"

Gary's smirk grew wider as he reached out to Sam to put a hand around her waist. Sam stiffened, but Gary just pulled her next to him.

"What the HECK?"

Gary put his free hand under her chin, and guided her gaze towards the thing Gary had been staring at a few minutes previous. "Look." He said.

Sam stared at the billboard. "Why am I supposed to be looking at – oh." She said, eyes widening. It was the ad for the contest. "I _know _the basic mechanics for the contest, Gary…" she said, slightly nullified by the thought of Gary's arm around her waist.

"I don't think we have enough time to buy food after the contest, _right_?" Gary said, leaning closer to her ear, arm still around her waist.

Sam nearly lost her nerve. "I d-don't think so…" she mumbled.

"Look again." He said, insistent.

Sam sighed, and stared at the billboard, trying to make sense of the words there, (choice words: 'sweetest', 'loving', 'caring') and saw four words that made everything make sense. A sly grin worked its way across her face as she wrapped her arm around Gary.

PRIZE: BIG FOOD BASKET.

**

Maxie tsked as one of his informants entered his private office. "The Gym Leaders already know? All of them?"

The informant, named Brick, nodded once. "It seems that the Sootopolis Gym Leader informed them all." He bowed his head, waiting for Maxie's response.

_Wallace. _Maxie hissed inwardly. _To think that you would be the one to bring my downfall. _"And the Elite Four?"

"Already informed by the Champion."

Maxie hissed, this time, out loud. Brick flinched at the rage of his leader. "Steven Stone." He said, pronouncing his name as if it were a bad word.

+ + + **(Author's Note: Ever since I read the manga for Pokemon Emerald, I have been addicted to another pairing, two actually, but only one will be shown in this chapter, which probably won't happen in the anime. Attention: I am entering the Elite Four into this story, and if you're only watching the anime, then you won't know these people except for Steven. You should probably check Wikipedia or something, so you'd know who I'm talking about. And the pairings, by the way, are Steven and Phoebe (again, if you don't know her, check the internet) and Wallace and Winona.)**

In Ever Grande

Steven Stone crashed his fist against the nearest table, obviously angered, while the Elite Four watched anxiously. Steven had never been this strung up ever since… well, never.

"Steven…" Glacia tried calming him down.

"Team Magma and Aqua are at it again… this is too much, even for them, ever since that Groudon and Kyogre incident…" Steven hissed. "If Ash Ketchum wasn't there when he was supposed to…"

"Steven…" Drake, the oldest among the five, reached out a hand to steady Steven.

"And they were already terrorizing about sixty percent of Hoenn…" Steven continued, steam practically pouring out of his ears.

"Steven." Sidney crossed his arms, as he did when Steven rarely became stubborn and impossible.

"And now they've got their sights on that girl!" Steven cast his gaze to a TV, which was showing our heroine, who was chatting with Gary about something which we'll come to know later.

"Steven…" this voice caught Steven's attention, seeing as it was coming from Steven's long-time crush. Phoebe, the Elite Four member specializing in Ghost Pokemon, was looking at him with a concerned look on her face. "Calm down, okay? We'll deal with this somehow." She continued, satisfied that he had finally quieted down. "We always do, don't we?" she said, smiling at him.

Sidney, Glacia, and Drake looked at each other with a knowing look on their face. They'd known ever since the beginning, that those two were meant for each other. Ever since that new group of the Elite Four was formed, those two were inseparable.

But we'll go back to them later. I mean, don't y'all wanna see what's happening to Sam and Gary?

**

"Julia, May, remind me to kill you two once this thing is over." Sam hissed.

The two just giggled.

Sam sighed. It was another thing to agree to _pretend _to be all cuddly with Gary, another to do it _**on stage and in front of judges and more than a thousand people watching**_. She shuddered.

_Flashback_

"_Look, I'll make a deal with you." Gary said, smirking as he took away his hand from Sam's waist. "I'm hungry, and that food looks pretty good, so why don't we _pretend _to be a couple, for the sake of my stomach?"_

_Sam gave him a sly smile. "You know what? I am _so _game for this. And I'm hungry too. So let's do this!"_

_End Flashback _

Julia laughed and put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Aw, don't worry, it's just for five hours tops…"

"What kind of contest is this anyway?!" Sam said, shocked of the fact that she was going to pretend to be cuddly with Gary for _five hours. _

"Like we said, the cutest couples contest!" May said, smiling half-heartedly.

"And what's with _that _look, May?" Julia said, smirking.

May shuddered. "The words 'Cutest Couple' and 'Drew' don't exactly match for me."

The three females were currently sitting down together with other females in a room in the Rustburo coliseum, where they would be briefed on the contest mechanics and blah, blah, blah.

The males (actually, two males and one 'no comment' person wearing a Cacturne costume) were in another room.

Julia and Sam laughed. "Don't worry, May, we won't tell that you two are crazy for each other." Julia said, wiggling her perfect eyebrows at May.

May turned crimson. "Shut up, Julia!" then, a mischievous smile crossed her face. "Better Drew than Harley."

Now it was Julia's turn to blush – this time, with fury. "Oh you just-"

**

"And now, presenting our candidates for HOENN'S CUTEST COUPLE!!!" the emcee announced as she stepped onstage to the crowd of exactly five thousand people.

This is how it would work. From the right wing of the stage, the girl would come out when her name was announced, and from the left wing of the stage, the boy would come out, then they'd display their 'love' to the crowd, and go back to their respective wings, and then the next couple would come out.

May, Julia and Sam would be the twenty-first, twenty-second, and the twenty-third couples, respectively. They reclined in chairs and sat down, quiet, and listened to the descriptions of the emcee.

"Regine is from Fortree City, a trainer! She met her soulmate on the road to Lilycove, and they hit it off perfectly!"

"Alex is a coordinator who met his match, Addie, who was a trainer, in Goldenrod City! They fell in love when their Nidoran's fell in love as well!"

"Zack is hailing from Viridian City, with his partner, Joan, they're celebrating their four years of dating today!"

Julia sighed. "Dang, these guys have better love stories than all of Taylor Swift's songs together."

"Tell me about it." May grumbled.

"I wonder what Gary cooked up." Sam said, picking on her shoe lace. The males were supposed to tell the emcee what to say about their couple, for example, how they met, how they got together, and etcetera.

"I think Drew's just doing this for the food." May made a face.

"And what do you think Gary's doing?" Sam replied.

"This lovely young coordinator met her match as a rival in one of her contests!" May gasped as the emcee called out a familiar scenario.

"May, that's you, isn't it!" Julia said, standing up. "I'm watching you from the wings! Come on, Sam!" Julia pulled on Sam's shoulder.

May trembled as she got ready to step on stage.

"May hails from Petalburg City, while Drew comes from Oldale Town! They fell in love when Drew's Roselia offered a rose to May while the latter thought it was from Drew! Come on out, please!" May was shaking with anger, while Julia stifled her giggles.

"You have to admit, he's creative with stories…" she snickered.

May plastered on a big smile and walked on stage, and Sam and Julia caught Drew flicking his cowlick at the crowd. Sam whispered to Julia. "Could you at least tell me the real story behind those two?"

Julia laughed quietly. "The first part was true. They were rivals during May's first contest, and she lost to him. The 'falling in love' thing was half-true. May did get a rose, but it was Drew who offered it to her, not Roselia. And I have no idea if they're in love or not. They keep bickering though, so we'll see." Julia shrugged.

They watched eagerly as the two joined hands in the middle of the stage, bowed, and suddenly, when May thought it was over, she turned around, but Drew did something surprising. He turned her back around, and dipped her suavely, and leaned closer to her face.

Julia clapped her hands to her mouth. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod-"

Drew smirked at May, and kissed her – on the forehead. The crowd went wild as Drew and May returned to their respective wings.

Julia was squealing like crazy. "May, I can't believe he did that to you!!!" May meanwhile, was too red and too in shock to speak.

"Our next couple met each other when they were in diapers!" Julia's eyes widened. "According to Harley, their mothers were best friends, and of course, who _doesn't _love the childhood love cliché? Come on out, Harley and Julia!"

Julia growled under her breath and muttered something like, "He is so dead when this thing is over…" while May and Sam giggled. Julia settled with a half-grin, and walked out to meet Harley, acting all cool and stuff.

Harley, however, was the opposite of cool.

"Oh, honeeeeeeeeey!" Harley cried out as he ran towards Julia, arms spread out wide for a hug.

May and Sam couldn't control their laughter as Harley hugged Julia, lifted her three feet in the air, set her down, and pecked her on the cheek. Julia looked like she was about to strangle him, but instead flashed him a dazzling (yet forced) smile. "Down, boy."

When Julia went back to the wings, she was practically fuming. "Harley has the _nerve _to do this to me? Oh, is he going to _get _it." She snarled.

"Our last but not the least couple composes of Sam and Gary! These two just got together recently, but years of affection for each other kept them together as best friends! According to Gary, it was their Pokemon who finally got them together in the end! Let's hear it for them!"

Sam's eyes widened. _It's for the food, I'm doing this solely for the food… _she chanted inside her head. Sam closed her eyes, and stepped into the stage to meet Gary…

And had her heart almost stopped.

_Meep. _Was all she could think of. Gary, during the orientation, had obviously done some shopping. He wasn't wearing that purple shirt that Sam had called gay in the beginning, but instead, it was a short-sleeved black shirt. (that showed off some muscles that Sam didn't remember seeing before) He had cut his hair a bit shorter, but it matched, and he still wore jeans, but whatever.

"Hey, Sam…" Gary said, for once, not smirking, but smiling at her with a genuine warmness that almost made her swoon onstage.

"Meep – I mean, h-h-hey, Gary…" Sam mumbled. She shook – no, trembled, as she tried to get to Gary, and tripped on her own feet. Gary rushed forward and caught her, and he smiled at her.

"I thought you only had to fall for me once?"

Sam blushed with fury. _What a stupid pick-up line!!!!!! _

"And it looks like déjà vu as Sam falls for Gary again! Isn't that _adorable_?" The emcee cooed.

"Oh, shut up." Sam mumbled under her breath.

Gary forced a smile. "Be nice, Sam… for the food, think of that huge basket…" Gary whispered back at her.

"I've been thinking of the food basket ever since the stupid thing started…" she hissed at him, as they walked into their separate wings.

**

Steven's brows creased. "That's not right." He murmured to himself. He cast another glance at the monitor which was watching Sam, and smiled as she was having fun with her friends. _She doesn't know. At least she'll be living a normal life for the meantime. _

Phoebe poked her head into Steven's room. "Hey, I was just checking in on you. You okay?" She smiled.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Phoebe…" he smiled at her, then continued writing on his charts.

"You didn't answer my question – again…" Phoebe sighed. She walked closer, this time, in front of his desk. "Look, this thing is getting way too big for you to handle alone."

Steven sighed. "Thanks for the concern, but seriously, I'm alright."

"I don't think so…" Phoebe muttered, and pulled his papers from his hands. "What are these anyway?" her brows furrowed. "You've been keeping tabs on all of the Legendary Pokemon for the past six months? From all regions? So _that's _where you've been going all these months!" she yelled, and hit him gently. "Chill for a while, okay?"

Steven gave her a look. "With this situation, I don't think I can chill."

"But you've been everywhere! To check on Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, searching for Ho-oh, summoning Lugia, looking for Suicune, trying to contact Mew and Mewtwo, going to look for more Unown, asking other guys for Palkia and Diagla, interrogating Samuel Oak about Celebi, scuba-diving for Kyogre, using Rhyhorn to check volcanoes for Groudon, and recently…" Phoebe ruffled through the papers. "Recently, you've been searching for a Pokemon named Manaphy!" she stared at him. "Honestly, Steven, there's such a thing as overwork…"

Steven stood up and grabbed both of her shoulders so that she would look him in the eye. "Please. Listen to me, Phoebe, I'm fine, and I'm not over working myself, and yes I can handle this."

Phoebe shook off his hands and narrowed her eyes at him. "Look, you don't have to be alone on this one! That's why we're the Elite Four! _You're _not the Elite _One_, we're a team and we help each other, got it?" she said angrily, and walked out of his room.

**

"The next part of our contest will be a dance." The emcee smiled at everyone, looking dreamy. "The judges will pick which couples should be eliminated. If you stop dancing, you are also eliminated. Until the last ten couples are standing, that's when you should stop. After that will be the final round."

Behind the curtains, Sam wriggled a bit uncomfortably in her dress. It was a black strapless dress, with a simple skirt design with white geometric designs crisscrossing around the base. In all honesty, she wondered why they couldn't have a dance in jeans and a t-shirt.

"This dress rules." Julia said excitedly as she twirled around. It was an off-the shoulder white dress with a full skirt. There were swirls around the skirt, it made you look dizzy just by looking at it. May was standing in a blue dress that complimented her eyes. It was a navy blue with silver lace around the waist.

"Yeah, it rules 'cause it looks like you're getting married to Harley…" May snickered.

"Oh, and you look like a bridesmaid." Julia said airily, glancing at May.

Sam ran her hand along the satin dress, and sighed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" May asked, coming closer to Sam.

"Oh, nothing…" Sam mumbled. "I was just missing someone."

"Ohhhhh?" Julia teased. "I didn't think that you'd miss Gary _this _much! I mean, he's probably like, I dunno, about a hundred meters away in another room, but if you guys are _this _much in love with each other…"

"You idiot!" Sam hissed, growing crimson. "I was _not _talking about him!"

"You… weren't?" Julia said, staring at her.

"Hey, I am actually allowed to see other boys than that Oak-"

Julia was suddenly in her face. "YOUTELLMEWHOYOURNEWGUYISORISWEARBADTHINGSWILLHAPPENWHOISITWHOISITWHOISIT?!"

"Chill, Julia!" Sam yelled back in her face. "He's not my new _guy_, besides, he's totally h-o-t and he's _much _nicer than Gary is…"

"And that confession of yours just makes me even more curious… who the heck are you talking about, Sammie?" Julia asked, begging.

A shy smile spread across Sam's face. "His name is Skye Storne… I really don't know if I like-like him or not but he's just… perfect…"

**

Drew stood outside the girl's dressing room; hand paused in front of the doorknob. One green eyebrow rose with interest as he caught the more-than-few words that were exchanged between the three.

He had come here to apologize to May, of course he knew that what he did positively _infuriated _her, but instead, he got something much more. He had excused himself from the boy's dressing room, just after Gary _finally _admitted that he liked Sam.

And what would Gary say when he knew that Sam liked someone else?

Drew shook his head; and put his hand back in his pocket. He walked away from the door, resolving to apologize to May later. _This'll be my little secret._

**

Maxie smirked as he sent off a few of his men to go and 'get the bacon'. _Let's see Steven Stone try to manage defeating me with this distraction._

**

"And let's hear it for our couples!" the emcee yelled at the crowd. Again, from the opposite sides of the stage, the couples went out to meet each other. Sam, May, and Julia took in a deep breath, and walked out.

Standing in black tuxedos, the only difference being their ties (purple for Harley, black for Gary, and of course, green for Drew), the boys held their hands out for the girls.

Sam smiled at him, and took his hand. _Meep. _She thought, thinking of how cute Gary looked.

May refused to look at Drew, seeing as she was still furious with him. "May?" Drew said softly. "May?" he tried again, after May ignored him.

"Stop it, Drew, you've embarrassed me enough." She snapped, taking his hand with a crushing force.

Julia stared at Harley, who was staring at Julia, who was staring at Harley, who was staring at Julia, who was staring at Harley, who was staring at Julia, who was staring at Harley, who was- oh, you get the idea. Finally, she reached out and grabbed his hand. "Look, I swear, do _anything _with me besides dance, and I _will _stop dancing and get us disqualified." She hissed.

"May I ask the couples to stand on the dance floor?" the emcee asked.

Everyone positioned themselves, while Gary and Sam, Julia and Harley, and May and Drew stood near each other. Gary smirked. "Don't you look _radiant_." He said, admiring the dress.

"Shh." Sam said, putting a finger on his lips. "I'm trying to preserve the moment of you in a tuxedo. I'm sure that Professor Oak would _love _to see this." She grinned evilly.

Gary just smiled at her. "I'm just _loving _the fact that you're wearing a dress."

Sam pouted. "Touché."

"Okay, everyone! We'll just have a slow dance tonight. The maximum hour is 1 hour straight. Remember, if you stop dancing, you're out!" The emcee turned to the audience. "Okay, music start!"

A slow, romantic song that made Julia want to puke on Harvey's tuxedo started playing. Sam watched as Drew uncertainly put his hands on May's waist, who begrudgingly obliged, and snickered as Julia looked positively horrified at the fact of Harley actually touching her. She was distracted, though, as Gary gently pulled her hands and placed them on his shoulders, and he placed his hands on her waist.

"For the food, Sam…" he smirked, and started twirling her around the stage.

Sam was lost – literally – in Gary's eyes. It was as if there was no one else on the stage, just the two of them. That, and Gary was surprisingly a very good dancer. "So… how in the world did they get you into that tuxedo?" Sam teased.

He half-shrugged. "Drew had to bribe me, though…" he smiled at her (they were passing the judges table) "And Harley had to knock me out for ten minutes…"

Sam giggled. "Jeez, Gary… Don't give them such a hard time." She half-scolded him. They passed by Drew and May, who were awkwardly just swaying back and forth.

"Hey…" Gary said, looking at her. "You're not wearing your glasses." He said, surprised.

Sam smirked. "They were a bore, Gary, and beside, they didn't have a grade, I was just wearing it for show." She laughed.

"But you look cute in glasses." Gary said, sincerity in his eyes and words.

Sam blushed. When she looked up in Gary's eyes again, she smiled at him.

They weren't like other couples on the dance floor that evening. They were content with just swirling around in their own little space of floor, and they didn't care if they bumped into anyone.

Sam stared at Gary, and something – a hallucination, probably, changed Gary's face into Skye's. "Ah!" she said, startled, and almost stopped dancing.

"Are you alright, Sam?" Gary asked, concerned. Sam blinked, and Skye's face was gone.

She pursed her lips together, feeling guilty. _I shouldn't be thinking about him…_She stared at Gary's face and smiled at him half-heartedly. _Ugh! Why am I… why am I so confused? _

**

Steven stared at Sam's face on the monitor as she whirled around with Gary. _They look cute together. _He drummed his fingers on the desk.

He felt a vibrating in his pocket, and pulled out his PokeNav. His brows creased together. _Why would Sidney call me at a time like this? I mean, he could just go to my room… _"Hello?"

"Steven!" Sidney's voice crackled through the phone. He heard the flapping of wings, and the wind rushing past the earphone.

"Sidney, what-"

"No time! Listen," Sidney paused as the agonizing scream of his Shiftry echoed through the phone. "No! Shiftry, return! Damn, you Magma bastards…" Sidney cursed. "Look, Steven, Magma ambushed Phoebe a while ago, she went out to get some air after she yelled at you."

Steven nearly dropped the PokeNav. _No._

"We're chasing them now, in the sky on Drake's dragons, but we're not getting any closer to saving her…"

"You mean… you mean they GOT her, they captured her?!" Steven yelled in the phone.

"Yeah, Steven! She's unconscious."

"Why didn't you call-"

"We thought you'd be busy," Sidney said mockingly. "But now we need you, so haul your frikkin butt out of your chair and get here already! Zangoose, you get on board and try to infiltrate!"

The connection crackled, and went out. But Steven was already out the door.

**

Sam sighed. _When did one hour get to be so _long_? _She thought, unconsciously leaning on Gary's chest.

_When did she get so close? _Gary thought, blushing as she –again, unconsciously- wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Alright! It seems we only have ten couples left! You can stop dancing now!" the emcee announced. Sam withdrew her arms, and Gary did, too. They looked around, and Sam wasn't surprised to see Julia and Harley, but she was to see May standing there with Drew, a little flustered. She rushed over to May.

"Hey! You made it to the last ten?"

May sighed. "Drew wouldn't let me quit." She snarled.

Drew smirked, and flipped his cowlick. "We were watching you two, too…" he smirked. "Staring at each other like there was no one else…"

"Shut up, Drew…" Gary and Sam growled at the same time.

"The last and final part of our contest is…" The emcee paused for dramatics. "The re-enactment of your first kiss."

Four voices inside four heads said the exact same thing at the exact same moment.

_Meep._

"What the MEEP?!" May whisper-shrieked, both of her hands covering her mouth.

Even the boys, who were supposed to be cool about these things, turned a bit pale and red at the same time.

Sam, strangely, was turning from red, to crimson, to purple, to green, to pink, and finally settling on crimson. "Aren't these things supposed to be private?" Sam hissed.

"Believe me, these things are _wormholes _for embarrassment." Drew replied.

"Now, to make things fun, we'll start from the last couple on our list!!!" The emcee replied, overexcited.

"THE LAST?!" Gary and Sam said at exactly the same time. "But-but-but-but how am I going to make up a story with this?" Sam screeched.

"Let's start with Gary and Sam!"

A spotlight coming from nowhere flashed on them, and Sam squinted her eyes a bit. Suddenly, she was staring in Gary's eyes, and he was getting to close, and she did what she would've done.

"Uh, hi Gary fancy seeing you so close to my face can you believe that we're here on stage re-enacting our first our first k-k-kiss, well I can't believe it either and I'm just really embarrassed right now and I can't stop talking I can't shut up I'm getting really nervous hi again Gary gosh you look cute in your tuxedo ha-ha-ha your grandfather'd love to see you and –"

Gary watched her, amused, just falling more in love with her with every word. He leaned closer to her face. "Sam?"

"-oh what is it Gary did you want to tell me something I don't know what but maybe it should be – "

Gary smirked as he tucked a hand behind her head. "Shut up and kiss me already."

Sam blanked out, and the next thing she felt was Gary pushing her head closer to his…

**

"What do you mean, she's gone?!" Steven yelled at the remaining Elite Four. Glacia looked close to tears, Sidney closed his eyes, and Drake had his sailor's cap off.

"They disappeared, we chased them all the way to Fortree, but the trees got thick and…" Glacia covered her mouth and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"We did what we could, Stevie…" Sidney said, opening his eyes again to look at the horror-stricken Steven Stone in the eye.

"But why didn't you call me sooner? I could've… I could've done something! I…" Steven fell on his knees. "She might be here right now!"

They looked at him sadly. "Phoebe was sad." Drake said, bluntly, and watched Steven stare at him. "She was worried about you. She was crying."

Steven was silent.

"Drake was the one who saw. He saw three Magma goons spray Phoebe with something, and well, he just yelled and we tried chasing him but…" Glacia stopped speaking.

"I'm calling Wallace." Steven said shortly, and went back into his room.

**

Gary angled himself so that no matter how the audience looked, it still looked like they were kissing. Even the emcee could see that they were kissing. Or so they thought. He was just leaning in _this _close to Sam's face. She smirked. "You are _such _a good actor, and a good planner…"

"I know that." He said.

"Thanks." She mumbled. Then she leaned away, and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Wasn't that PRECIOUS?" The emcee cooed. "Next up is May and Drew!"

When the light shone on them, Drew did the only thing he thought of doing. He cupped May's face with both of his hands, and kissed her on the mouth. May's knees buckled under her**(because we all know that Drew's a supremely good kisser)**, and after ten seconds, they broke apart.

"I never thought that they'd do that." Sam said, shocked.

"Me neither."

They watched the other couples kiss in front of them, one couple started making out though, and finally, it was time to announce the winners of the fruit basket. The head judge stepped up and smiled at the audience. "First runner up wins a scuba-diving trip off the shores of Rustburo town. It takes place tonight, when there will be a lot of water Pokemon, and free of all charges!" he turned to the candidates. "First runners up are… SAM AND GARY!!!!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Gary yelled. "But-but-but-but…"

Sam's mouth dropped open. "We don't get the food basket?!"

"And we all know the prize for first prize! I present this giant food basket to… MAY AND DREW!"

**

Sam pouted. "I can't believe this. I worked so hard… I was so cuddly with you… and all we get is this boat, and we have to scuba dive now." She stood in a one-piece black swimsuit, while Gary was wearing his swimming trunks. "This is not fair!"

"And Drew and May, who are now officially a couple, are chowing down on that food basket that had _our name _on it, and making out somewhere in between." Gary said.

"Let's just scuba-dive already." Sam sighed.

They jumped in the water together, and were amazed at the number of water Pokemon. Sam smiled to herself as a Wailmer cruised by her. Gary was distracted as a group of Luvdisc came closer to them. He surfaced, and checked his Pokedex for the Luvdisc. He listened to the robotic voice as it registered, and Gary was surprised when this came up.

Any couple said to meet a group of Luvdisc together are said to have a long and everlasting relationship.

Gary smiled to himself. "Hey, Gary!" Sam called to him.

"Hm?"

"You swimming or not?" she asked, treading water.

66666666666666666666

THIS IS BY FAR THE LONGEST CHAPTER. WHOOOOOOSH.

There's tension in the Elite Four. Oooooh.

Serpent's Ballet. That chapter's almost coming. But don't tell. Shhhh. :D

Fairy: Sure you can submit an OC. I'll fit it in somewhere. :D

Romeo: Thanks for the reviews. They make me laugh, hahaha.

OTHER REVIEWERS: thanks for reviewing! And watch out for the next chapter!


	8. Why I Like His Purple Shirt

"This… is… AWESOME!" Sam squealed as the wind rushed through her hair. Gary laughed quietly.

Currently, they were riding the boat (with a totally wonderful chauffer) that they had used for scuba diving to ride to Dewford. Sam breathed in the salty sea air and sighed. "I have absolutely no idea why the boat wasn't first prize." She sat down on a chair on the upper deck. "I mean, come on, Gary, you have to admit… this is awesome…" she said, reclining on the chair and closing her eyes.

Gary shook his head with amusement. It was as if last nights events hadn't even happened. And he was surprised to find out that he liked it. "We should be reaching Dewford in about two hours." He called to her.

"Sure, sure…" Sam smiled contentedly from her chair. "Just let me tan and be happy. Wake me up when we get there."

**

Steven paced angrily in his office. Waiting for Wallace had never been this infuriating or nerve-racking. Maybe because he was late.

"Sorry I'm late, Steven…" Wallace glided into the room, robes and other random accessories swinging around. "There was this trainer who just wouldn't stop battling-"

"Not now, Wallace, I need to talk to you." Steven said, planting his hands on his desk. "We really need to formulate a plan on how to get Phoebe back."

Wallace sighed and plunked himself in one of Steven's comfy chairs. "No time for chit-chat, hm?"

"This is _Phoebe _we're talking about! _MY PHOEBE!_" Steven yelled. He realized the meaning of what he just said, and turned red. Wallace smirked. "Never mind that." Steven said hastily. "I'm serious, though, we need to save her!"

"You said it yourself, Steven, this _is _Phoebe we're talking about. Can't she take care of herself?" Wallace said, twirling his blue hair between his fingers.

Steven was quiet.

Wallace smiled at him. "If I know Phoebe, then she's probably trying to find a way out of wherever they're keeping her right now."

**

"UGH!" Phoebe screamed in frustration. "Look, okay, you Magma b-stards who kept me locked up in here… You messed with the wrong member of the Elite Four!"

There was no response, and Phoebe scowled at the stone ceiling, and slumped on the floor. She was in… well, a dungeon, (Team Magma surprises everyone by being sooo old-fashioned) and she wasn't chained or anything, but still, it was pretty creepy.

A sly smile spread across her face. _Thank goodness I brought Dusclops and Banette's Pokeballs with me… _"Let's go, Dus…" she was shocked as she felt the empty space of her belt bag. "My Dusclops! Where… Banette!" she cried, noticing their absence.

A low chuckle came from the shadows of the dungeon. (okay, so it came from behind the door, but that's not as poetic.) "What a pleasure to finally see in person a member of the illustrious Elite Four!"

There was the click of a lock turning and the creak of the door opening as Phoebe strained her eyes to look at her captor. "Maxie." She hissed, recognizing the face from Steven's files.

"You know me! How pleasant." Maxie sneered. "If you're looking for your Pokemon they're… around here somewhere." He said airily.

"You _give _them back to me or I swear I'll rip your liver out through your mouth!" Phoebe yelled.

Maxie tsked. "Temper, temper, temper." Phoebe glowered at him. "What?" he asked mockingly. "Besides, I just wanted to welcome you to our lair, dear."

"What do you want from me, anyway?"

"Bait." Maxie said, exiting the room, and softly closing the door behind him. "It seems your friend, Steven Stone, is _dying _to rescue you."

Phoebe's mouth dropped open. _No... No… no, no, no… _She thought. "You… you hurt him, and I…" she was at a loss for words. "Just don't hurt him… please…" she whispered.

Maxie's laugh echoed through the dungeon.

**

Sam was awoken by the slight puttering of the engine. "Please, please, _please _don't tell me that the engine's out." She muttered to herself.

"The engine's out." The chauffer said.

Sam groaned.

"How long will it be until we can move?" Gary asked.

"At most?" The chauffer looked worried. "I still have to go to the mainland and get gas…" he reached in his pocket. "Lapras, let's go!" a Lapras appeared. He turned to Sam and Gary. "Please don't go anywhere. I'll be back in… well, let's just see." He shrugged.

He leapt onto Lapras and was gone.

"He did not just leave us stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean." Sam said crossly. "This is just _great_." Sam glared at Gary, who was staring blankly at Lapras and the chauffeur's retreating backs. "Now I'm stuck with _you _on a boat that I didn't even want, and lord knows when that stinking chauffeurs' gonna return."

"_Someone_ gets pretty angry when she's abandoned or something…" Gary said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, just shut up!" Sam snapped.

"Isn't _this _a weird place for a date?" A familiar voice reached their ears.

Sam's face lit up, while Gary's face practically darkened.

I'm sure you all know who this is.

"Skye!!!" Sam squealed, turning around. "What are _you _doing here?"

Skye shrugged from on top of a Wailmer. "Just surfing around. I was on my way to Dewford, actually…" He smiled (particularly at Sam, and practically ignored Gary) and patted the top of his Wailmer. "Want a lift?"

Sam's eyes sparkled. "I'd _love _to! Thanks, Skye!!" she smiled at him.

Gary smiled half-heartedly as he patted the railing of the boat. "I'll just stay here and…" he looked around him. "Protect the boat." He continued lamely.

Skye looked amused. "If you're sure…" he shrugged again. "Well, I'm not one to push you."

"I'll come back for you, Gary, don't worry!" Sam grinned at him from Wailmer's back. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna leave you here or anything." Skye smiled at Gary too.

"I'll drop her off right after I show her something." He said cheerfully. "We might take about an hour or so."

"Right." Gary said, heart feebly protesting against this arrangement. "Take as long as you want." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, thank you, Gary!" Sam smiled at him.

Gary could only watch as his friend and his Wailmer took off, taking with them, the girl of his dreams.

**

"There-" Steven banged his head on the desk. "Has-" he banged his head on the desk again. "To be-" (bang) "Another-" (bang) "Way!" (bang, bang, bang)

"Stop beating yourself up, Steven… It wasn't even your fault." Sidney said from the corner. The rest of the Elite Four had arrived.

Steven looked up at him from the desk. "If you're trying to make me feel better, you're failing horribly."

Wallace, Glacia, Drake, and Sidney sighed. In the past hour or so, Steven had oddly concluded that everything that happened to Phoebe in the past day was his fault.

"Steven, you'll give yourself a concussion." Glacia said, tired, as Steven resumed banging his head on the table.

"I don't care." Steven replied.

"If you give yourself a brain hemorrhage, you can't save Phoebe." Drake said.

"Phoebe won't care."

"And what makes you think that?" Sidney said, incredulous.

"She'd want _you guys _to save her." Steven said, looking miserable. "She's mad at me, remember?"

"You know as well as we do that we have to stay here just in case something major happens." Drake said.

"You're being stupid, Steven…" Glacia sighed.

"Get someone to help you." Wallace said breezily from his chair.

"What?" Steven said, head shooting up.

"I said, get someone else to help you." Wallace repeated. "I mean, you can't just call out the Gym Leaders, but…"

Steven wasn't paying attention anymore as his gaze shot over to the TV monitor which was showing Sam surfing on a Wailmer with another boy. "Wallace… thanks for giving me that idea." He said, getting out of his chair.

"Where are you going?" Wallace and Sidney asked at the same time.

"It's time our little miss purple knew what was going on."

**

Gary sighed and slumped to the floor, bored. _Sam and Skye are doing something together… they're practically on a date. _Gary glowered at his shoe.

_But Sam and I pretended to be a couple. And yet… we _pretended_. But it's better than going on a date than… oh who am I trying to convince? The fact is… I haven't even got the courage to ask her out! _Gary grit his teeth. _And to think that it was _Skye _who stole her away from me… the thought wants to make me throw up! What does she see in him, anyway?!_

"I was under the impression that Sam would be here by now." A voice that seemed like it was floating six feet above the ground interrupted Gary's rant. Shocked, Gary looked up to see Steven Stone standing on a Metang. "Did she dump you or something?"

Gary turned crimson. "We're not even together! And aren't you the champion of the Hoenn League or something?"

Steven sighed. "Definitely not 'or something'. I am the champion, yes. Gary Oak, I presume?" he leapt off his Metang, landing on the boat, and returned Metang to his ball.

"Uh, yeah…" Gary said, looking confused. "Is there anything you want?"

"Hm… it's Sam I want to talk to…" Steven said. "But you'll do."

"What do you mean by, 'you'll do'?"

"I need both of your help." Steven admitted. "I know about her. The 'Holder of Spirits' thing. Samuel Oak must've told you."

Gary looked down. "They're still after her, aren't they?" Steven nodded. "Yes, I know what her gift is." He said, looking to the side. "But… what's wrong?"

"Team Magma took one of the Elite Four. And I need you and Sam to help me." Steven said.

**

"WHEEEEEEE!" Sam squealed and held on to Skye as they zoomed across the ocean on Wailmer's back. Skye smiled as she held on to his arm as Wailmer's speed increased. "This is better than any roller coaster in the world!"

Skye laughed as Wailmer went on one last lap, and stopped. "I have to agree with you on that one."

Sam noticed the sun about to set. "Hey… I better get back to Gary." She said, realizing how late it was.

"Hm… that's right." Skye admitted. If he didn't bring her back… well, let's say that maybe a very angry Gary would rush across the water to strangle Skye.

Wailmer glided across the water at a slower pace. "Hey, Sam." Skye said as Sam stared at a flock of Wingull.

"Hm?"

"I was wondering…" Skye fiddled with his fingers. "Would you wanna maybe when you have time go out with me?"

Sam choked on air – literally. "A-A-A-Are you asking me out?" she spluttered.

"When you have time." Skye corrected. "I know you're with Gary and all, and you might not have time anymore…"

"Are you kidding?" Sam laughed. "Of _course_ I'll have time!" she smiled at him shyly. "I'll try to sneak away from Gary when he's not looking."

Skye started to grin. "Awesome!" he sheepishly scratched his head. "I didn't think you'd say yes or anything… I mean, you look like you really like Gary…"

Sam's face fell. _Uh… _"Well…" she blushed. "I really like you, though, Skye…" she said, almost whispering.

"Hm…" Skye said thoughtfully. "I really like you too, Sam…" he replied.

** **(A/N: Uh-oh…)**

"Got any six's?" Steven asked drowsily. Gary and Steven had found a pack of cards in the captain's desk, and were playing their 17th game of 'Go Magikarp' while they were waiting for Sam.

"Go Magikarp." Gary replied as Steven got a card from the stack. "Got any King's?"

Steven sighed. They'd been waiting for Sam for _hours. _"Yup." He handed over a King.

"Got any two's?" Gary asked, stifling a yawn.

"Go Magi-"

"I had a great time, Skye…" Sam's voice floated over to them.

"Finally…" Gary got up and stretched, with Steven doing the same. He was excited to see Sam, in fact, he was –

And then Gary's heart was ripped in two.

Skye was leaning over Sam's hand, apparently kissing it, while Sam blushed happily. Gary blinked stupidly as Skye said something to Sam, who replied, but for some reason, he couldn't hear what they were saying. It was consumed by the ripping of his heart.

"Gary? Uh… did you wait long?" Sam's voice broke through the sound, looking concerned.

Gary could only bite his lip. "Steven Stone's here."

"The Champion?" Sam asked, surprised. She caught sight of Steven leaning on the edge of the boat. "Oh, hello." She said, oblivious to Gary's obvious heartache.

"Sam… we need to talk." He said, cutting to the chase.

"Huh? About what?"

"Sit down." Steven ordered her. She complied. "Where do I begin?"

"It would help a lot if I knew what you were talking about." Sam said, shrugging.

Steven sighed. "Alright then. I might as well say it like this. You're very, very special, Sam."

"What?" Sam said, taken aback.

"You have… a gift." Steven said. "Have you ever wondered why Team Magma went after you in the forest a couple of days ago?"

"How did you know about-" Sam was cut off by Steven's glare. "Okay, okay, I did wonder. So?"

"They want your gift… and they want to use it to take over the world." Steven said seriously.

"What is my 'gift' anyhow?" Sam asked.

"You can control all the legendary Pokemon in the world. Just by turning into the Spirit Sage. Teams Magma and Aqua need you to mind control Kyogre and Groudon and they need you to get the other legendary Pokemon out of the way." Steven said.

Sam was quiet, and then burst out laughing.

Steven turned cross. "What's funny?"

"Oh boy, Steven, that was a really good story, I almost believed in it. Tell me the real reason why you're here." She said, eyes sparkling.

"You don't… believe me?" Steven said, eyes wide.

"I don't!" Sam said. "In fact, I think you'd make a great storyteller if you weren't the Champion. Seriously, though, what're you doing here? The Champion obviously has other things to do than-"

"This isn't a story, Sam! This is real life, it'll save you, dammit!" Steven yelled.

"But it can't be real!" Sam yelled back. "I mean, controlling Legendary Pokemon? The 'Spirit Sage'?" Sam threw her hands up. "Don't you think I'm a bit too old to listen to fairytales?"

"It's true." Gary said quietly, from the other edge of the boat, interrupting whatever Steven was about to yell back.

"What?"

"It's true." Gary repeated. "Professor Birch told you a lie. So did Gramps." He stared at her, feeling a bit of resent towards her because of Skye. "I didn't go traveling with you because I 'lost my confidence' or whatever Gramps wrote there. I was supposed to protect you, a rookie trainer who is and was the target of every research center in the world, from people like Maxie and Archie, the leaders of Team Magma and Aqua. I know everything, Sam."

Sam yelled at him. "I can't believe it!" she stepped closer to him. "You… you knew about this… this MADNESS and you never… told me?!"

"Well, it looked like you kept a whole lot of secrets to yourself!" Gary yelled back.

"What are you _talking _about?" Sam was confused.

"I mean, _come on_, hanging out with Skye? Are you _that _bored with me?"

Sam blushed. "What I do with Skye is none of your business…" she stepped closer. "Gary Oak." She snarled.

Gary stepped forward too, so they were only about 2 feet away from each other. "It becomes my business when you start keeping secrets from me!"

At this stage, Steven decided it wasn't the time to interfere.

Sam's mouth dropped open. "Look who's talking!"

"But at least I still spent time with you! I didn't abandon you in the middle of the ocean, did I?"

Sam glared at him. She knew he was right about that, and she couldn't find a way to contradict him.

"So, what were you doing with Skye for the past hour? Making out over his Wailmer?"

"SHUT UP!" Sam yelled. "Like I said, whatever I do with Skye is NONE of your business, GOT IT?"

"Meaning you _were_ making out with Skye!" Gary sneered.

"For your information, bean head," Sam snarled. "He asked me out!"

Gary's heart was crushed into pieces.

"And I said yes!" Sam continued.

The pieces of Gary's heart blew away in the wind.

"Cool it!" Steven commanded. "Will the two of you just shut up? Both of you are right, and both of you are wrong to be yelling at each other! So be quiet!"

Sam glared at Gary furiously, who did likewise.

"Sam, you have to believe me." Steven said, glaring at her with a great force. "I'm serious, and I have no reason to lie to you."

Sam just glared at Steven, and walked to a far corner of the boat.

"She believes you." Gary said stiffly.

Steven looked at Gary. _He's hurt. What Sam told him crushed him. _He felt pity for Gary. "Gary… tell Sam I'll be back for her in the morning. I still have to explain more things to her."

Gary nodded.

Steven looked at him, concerned. Then he took out his Pokeball and called out Metang. "Good eve, the two of you."

Steven and Metang zoomed away into the sunset, while the sun was just about to sink into the horizon. Gary watched them, and looked at the corner, where Sam was sitting down. "Sam, I… oh, never mind." Gary said crossly and walked to his own corner.

The hours passed, and the stars started shining above them. The chauffeur hadn't returned yet.

Gary decided he had to talk to Sam. So he stood up and walked to her, then sat down next to her. She made no move to look at him. "We have to do something."

Sam was quiet.

"We can't just stay here in the boat, Sam…" Gary said gently. "Maybe we can just-"

"I'm sorry." Sam said, finally turning her head to him. She hugged her knees. "You were right and I'm sorry."

Gary flinched when he saw her face. She had been crying. Tear streaks ran down her cheeks. And another tear trickled down as she was speaking. "No, Sam… I-"

"Shut up, okay?" Sam took in a shaky breath. "This is one of the very few times when I admit that I'm wrong. And you better remember this."

Gary laughed. "Forgive me?"

"You didn't do anything." Sam said. "You were just annoyed that I left you, right? There's no harm in that, is there? But I just… exploded at you for no reason." She said quietly.

He sighed. "It's okay, Sam… I'm not mad at you – anymore – and I just want us to be friends again, okay?"

"Sure." Sam said, smiling. "And if you tell a soul that I told you that I accepted Skye's offer, then I'll kill you, okay?"

Gary just smiled at her. "Sure."

Sam sniffled. Gary turned to her and offered her the sleeve of his purple shirt. "Blow." He said teasingly, seeing she didn't have a tissue.

Sam stared at him. "Honestly?"

Gary shrugged. "You can just have your snot run down your nose, or you can blow it on my shirt."

Sam sighed. "No way am I gonna blow my nose on your shirt."

"Then I'm going to use my shirt to wipe your tears." He said, half-laughing. He wiped her face with his sleeve, smiling in the process.

When he was done, Sam giggled a little. "You're acting like my dad."

"That's what I'm supposed to be like. Or a babysitter." Gary said, after some thoughts.

She punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up."

They were silent for a few minutes. "I don't think he's gonna show." Gary said, sighing.

"Well, if he _does _show, I'm gonna kill him anyway." Sam growled. "I'm tired." She added, pouting like a kid.

"Then sleep." Gary said dismissively.

Sam smirked and leaned on Gary's shoulder, snuggling closer. Gary blushed, but said nothing. "Are you gonna sleep there tonight?"

"Yes." She said, smugly. She yawned. "What did you do with the shirt you wore to the couples contest, anyway?"

"I gave it to Drew. He said he wanted it." Gary smirked. "Why, did you like that one better?"

Sam blushed, remembering what she thought when she saw him wearing it. "No." she replied, stifling another yawn.

"Huh?" Gary said, shocked.

"I like this shirt better." Sam smiled contentedly.

"Why?"

"This one's warmer for snuggling." She teased, and fell asleep.

**

CHAPTER DONE!

Notes: Okay, I just remembered that Drew was from La Rousse. Sorry about that error, folks. :D

I might post another chapter later. I know, the third one in like, a span of two days. But I might not be able to post another chapter next week since I'm joining this swimming contest in a whole other island in the Philippines, and I won't have time.

So basically, I'm just making up for my absence in advance.

Enjoy, and read and review!


	9. The Purple Truth

"Mmm…" Sam yawned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes, and found her face-to-face with a still-sleeping Gary. The sun wasn't too high in the sky, and as she checked her watch, she saw that it was only eight thirty. She blushed a deep crimson as she realized their position.

She was now lying down on her side, facing Gary. Their hands were intertwined. Gary's arm had served as a pillow for her. Sam smiled when she looked closer at Gary's face.

He was drooling.

She laughed quietly, but it was still enough to wake him up. She watched curiously as Gary also absorbed their awkward position. "Sam?"

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Watching you get up, is there anything wrong with that?" she smirked, and stood up, stretching her arms. Gary sighed a bit as her hand disappeared from his grasp.

"Good morning." Two men wearing white sailor suits complete with caps that covered their eyes greeted them. They were standing at the wheel of the boat.

"Who are you guys and what are you doing in this boat?" Sam demanded.

The two laughed. The slightly taller one removed his cap and Sam relaxed as she realized that it was Steven. The other one also removed his cap, and Sam thought that this guy kinda looked familiar.

"We haven't met." The unknown man smiled gently at her. "I'm Wallace of the Sootopolis Gym. Nice to meet you."

"Uh… nice to meet you too." Sam smiled. Gary stood up then, stretching. Steven's face turned into a mischievous grin.

"So I see you've made up?"

"Yeah." Sam said breezily. "And you're _not _wearing that stupid uniform just to look cool."

Steven laughed. "Anyway, you're probably wondering what we're doing here."

"Yeah…" Sam said, rolling her eyes. "It's about time we got to that."

"Well, you see…" Steven said, a big grin on his face. "We found the hideout where they're keeping Phoebe."

The two teens watched as Steven's face turned into a dopey grin as he said the name 'Phoebe'.

"Is she your girlfriend or something?" Gary asked.

"Not yet!" Steven yelled. "I mean… she's another member of the Elite Four, the second member. The one who specializes in Ghost Pokemon."

"Don't mind him, he's just obsessed with saving his 'one and only'…" Wallace sighed, hands on the wheel.

"Wait, wait, wait, so we're going there _now_?" Sam asked, taken aback.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Wallace asked, confused.

"We have to challenge the Dewford Gym!" Sam protested.

"That can wait!" Steven said. "Onwards to Team Magma's hideout in the nearby caves!"

He turned the ignition for the boat, and it sped forward with such a force that Sam lost balance and had to hold on to Gary. The two older trainers smiled at the gesture.

"So where is this hideout?" Gary asked, holding firmly onto Sam's shoulders.

"Just a few kilometers from here…" Steven said. "If we hurry, we might be able to get you back to Dewford by nightfall!"

"At this speed, we'll probably get caught by the coast guard!" Sam yelled over the rushing of the wind. "We'll never get back to Dewford!"

"You should trust Steven!" Wallace yelled. "And besides, when he wants something, he gets it. So there's no point in arguing." He shrugged.

"Do you actually think that we can battle with two Pokemon a piece? I mean, I'm just a rookie trainer!"

"Yes, but this hideout is guarded by other rookie members of Team Magma, in other words, it's a minimum security hideout. We can sneak in there easily." Steven said confidently.

"I don't know about that…" Gary said thoughtfully. "Maxie's the leader of Team Magma, right? He should know better than to put a member of the Elite Four who's sure to be rescued sometime in a 'minimum security hideout'."

"Gary's right!" Sam protested. "Are you seriously thinking that Team Magma would underestimate you guys?"

Steven just grinned confidently.

**

"Hmmm…" Maxie said, cocking his head as he looked at the security cameras. "Well, if it isn't Steven Stone himself and Wallace. Very disappointing. I was expecting most of the Elite Four." He sighed. "And what's this? He's brought our little purple friend!"

Archie growled from the corner. "I still don't get why you're trying to get the champion to rescue the girl you captured."

Maxie laughed. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

"What are you talking about?" Archie demanded.

"According to our spy, Steven Stone is the only one who can teach Samantha there to control her powers. If he can teach her, then we might as well not capture her later to do our bidding. Once the power is controlled, then there's nothing we can do about it." He smiled evilly. "But if we can get Steven away from Sam…"

"I get it." Archie said, cackling.

**

"Ah… we're here!" Steven said, stretching. "By the way, what Pokemon did both of you bring?"

"Umbreon and Mudkip."

"Treecko and Poochyena." Sam said, embarrassed.

Steven and Wallace just smiled. "Don't worry, you two. Don't forget who you're with. We can deal with everything." Steven said.

"Oh, yeah." Sam said, laughing.

They looked at the entrance of the cave. "Why do you need the two of us, anyway?" Sam asked.

"While we're dealing with Team Magma, I need you two to try and find Phoebe." Wallace said.

"Uh… can you describe her? I mean, it's not like we've met her or anything." Sam said.

Before Wallace could say anything, though, Steven interrupted. "She has black hair that's always pulled back by big, pink flowers. She wears something like Hawaiian attire, and her skirt has the pattern of pokeballs' on it. She has a winning smile, and it's like the whole world lights up when she smiles. She has a great personality, and her laugh's like-"

"Please, Steven. Be quiet." Wallace said, rubbing his temples.

Gary and Sam laughed.

**

The spy rose his eyebrows he entered his uncle's office. _What could uncle want now?_

Maxie smiled as his nephew entered the room. "Have you done it?"

"Yes, uncle." He replied.

**

Steven flexed his fingers. "Ready, Wallace?"

"Sure. I mean, it's gonna be a hard time getting past all these rookie Magmas." Wallace said, smirking.

"Aren't _they_ confident?" Sam laughed, whispering to Gary.

"Well, they _are_ the Champion and the eighth Gym Leader." Gary reminded her. "Rookie trainers are probably nothing to them."

"Aggron! Metagross! Time to save Phoebe!" Steven called out.

Gary and Sam's jaws dropped to the floor as they saw these _gigantic _Pokemon standing in front of them. Aggron leaned in closer to Sam, and nudged her playfully.

"Hey!" Sam laughed.

"Oh, pooh." Wallace said sadly. "No water for my babies."

"Hmm…" Steven studied the walls. "This cave is half-submerged under water. If we go lower, I think that…" he nodded to himself. "Don't worry, Wallace!"

They walked in silence as they progressed into the cave (Steven's Pokemon sounded like that T-rex in Jurassic Park, you know, EARTHQUAKE!!!) going downwards. It got darker. "Sam, Gary, please hold on to each other. You might be separated."

Sam sighed, in the darkness, and reached out for Gary. He smirked, and grabbed her hand. "This is much easier, don't you think?"

Sam turned to where she thought his face was, and gave him a death glare. "You just shut up, Gary, okay?"

"A-ha." Steven said triumphantly.

"What?" Wallace asked him.

"We should be under water by now…" he said, doing some mental calculations in his head. "And if I'm correct, the Magma goons should start showing up in-"

"HEY!" a voice called to them, male and sinister. "What are you doing here?"

Steven's brows creased together. "Hmm… three seconds too early. Oh well." He turned to Aggron. "Aggron, punch a hole in the wall about three feet from your direct left." He turned to Metagross. "And you should punch another hole in the ground. Three steps to your right, four steps forward and use Stomp."

Aggron and Metagross did their tasks simultaneously, and almost immediately, geysers of water sprung out. "Agg!" Aggron cried out, because, well, you know that water and half-rock Pokemon don't actually go together…

"Aggron, Metagross, Return for now!" Steven said, returning them into their balls.

Three stunned people looked at Steven. "How did you know all of this?"

"Learned it in college." Steven shrugged. "Now, Wallace, I think you should take care of our friends who should be trying to make their way up here."

"Right." Wallace said. "Milotic, Twister!! Oh, and you should probably hold on to something." He said, pulling out Milotic's ball and turning to Sam and Gary at the same time. Sam immediately half-hugged Gary.

Milotic appeared in the water which only covered about ten percent of her tail. She gave Wallace a Look.

"Don't look at me like that, Milotic…" Wallace groaned. "Twister!"

Milotic gave a little shrug of her head. She lifted her tail, and…

Sam lost track of everything as a gust of wind that felt like a tornado blew through the tunnel. She had to close her eyes since the wind was getting irritating. She held tighter on to Gary; she felt that if she let go, she might fly away.

"Aaaaah!"

"I can't hold on!"

"Help me- (the ugly sound of a body hitting the wall)"

Wallace flinched a little, since he was normally a very gentle person who wouldn't use his battling skills like this. But it _was_ a direct order from the Champion, and automatically, he had to do it.

Then everything was still. The three boys looked in amusement at Sam, who was still closing her eyes and tightly holding on to Gary. "It's over, Sam…"

Sam opened her eyes and let go immediately. "I knew that!" She snapped, and continued walking down the tunnel. Wallace and Steven chuckled.

"You _know _you can't get enough of me." Gary said smugly.

"SHUT UP!"

**

Phoebe heard Wallace telling Milotic to do twister, and of _course_ she heard the screams of terror of the Magma goons. Her eyes grew wide. _Wallace. And of course… Steven. But… no! He can't be here!_ She looked around her. _Steven… _She thought with all her might inside her head, hoping that she had mysteriously grown mind powers in the past days. _Steven, please don't come here… it's not worth it. They don't want you near Sam, they'll do anything… that's why they took me… Please, Steven…_

_I love you too much to lose you like this._

**

Everything was quiet. "Hmm…" Steven said again. "That was almost _too _easy."

"Okay, I just noticed something, why are you acting like such a smart know-it-all now? When I met you on the boat you were the calm and quiet one who was about to blow up when I yelled at you. And now…" Sam rose her eyebrows.

Wallace laughed. "You noticed it too?" he had a teasing voice in his tone. "Actually, he acts like that when he's trying to impress Phoebe."

**(A/N: Hell-ooo… Phoebe can hear you guys…)**

"Shut up." Steven demanded. "Let's go find Phoebe already."

They continued walking down the stairs, getting slower as the water had trickled down the stairs and was getting slippery.

They saw a door at the foot of the stairs, and of course, Steven started running when he saw Phoebe's face poking out of that little window in the door. Her eyes opened wide. "Steven, STOP!"

Steven stopped. "Huh?"

"It's a damn trap, Steven, can't you see that??" She yelled.

"But…"

"Leave me here! I'm fine! I can deal with it!" she said, pleading with him. "I can get out by myself."

"Like hell I'm leaving you here!" Steven protested, though not taking another step.

Sam almost stepped in, but Wallace put a hand on her shoulder. "Just watch."

Phoebe let out an exasperated sigh, one that was such a familiar gesture, that Steven smiled, despite the situation they were in. "Steven, would you rather have the WORLD in danger, or me? Think about it!"

"You know, this is practically my fault!"

Phoebe's brows, given a little light by the torches hanging near the door, traveled farther up her head. "What gave you THAT idea?"

Steven faltered at Phoebe's gaze. "W-Well, if you hadn't yelled at me like that… if I hadn't got you mad, you wouldn't have rushed out all of a sudden and…"

"Steven…" she said quietly. "THIS ISN'T YOUR FAULT!" she yelled.

Sam, Wallace, and Gary winced.

"Okay, okay, it isn't my fault!" Steven said, placing his hands in front of him. "At least let me get you out of this mess!"

"Steven Stone I _forbid _you to do that. I… I don't want you in this… I just want you to be safe…" she whispered.

Steven looked at her for a long time. Then he ran forward, cupped her cheek with his right hand, and kissed her.

Almost at once, the floor started to shake, and a wall was coming up from the ground right at the foot of the stairs. Phoebe broke this kiss. "Get out! Now!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Steven said.

Phoebe turned her head to Wallace, who was holding on to the side of the wall. "Please." She whispered.

Wallace shook his head, but turned to his Milotic. "Milotic." The said Pokemon looked at him, getting uncomfortable with the lack of water. "Wrap."

Steven felt a damp thing wrap around his waist and lift him into the air. "No-" he looked at Phoebe. "Phoebe!"

Phoebe bit her lip.

Just as Milotic pulled her tail over the wall, it slammed into the roof, and was sealed shut. "No…" Steven said, eyes wide. "I was so close!"

"Steven…" Sam said quietly.

"Why did you do that?!" Steven asked, turning to Wallace. "Why?!"

"Phoebe told me to, Steven, I can't-"

"I was _this _close, Wallace!" Steven said, gritting his teeth. "I could've…" he stared death at Wallace. "METANG!" he called out his Pokemon. "We're outta here! Come on!" he stomped back up the entrance to the cave.

An awkward silence followed.

Wallace shook his head. "Gary, Sam, I should get you to Dewford now. I'm sorry, this wasted your time…"

"No, it was fine, Wallace." Sam smiled at him. "Honestly."

Gary looked at Sam, and sensed that something was wrong.

**

Phoebe clapped her hands over her mouth as tears poured endlessly from her eyes.

_He didn't… he kissed me… and I just… I just let him go like that. _She thought, burying her head between her knees.

"Odd…" Maxie's voice came to her. "I was expecting Steven Stone to be here." He entered the dungeon after unlocking it (Phoebe thought there was a hidden passage).

"Shut up!" Phoebe stood up. "I saved him, Maxie! I don't want him to go through all of this!"

Maxie laughed. "Do you honestly think that just by doing that, you can stop me from harming him?"

Phoebe flinched. "No…" she replied quietly.

"Then… you know it's hopeless."

**

"Don't worry, you two…" Wallace said gently as they docked into the pier. "I'll talk to Steven. He's never mad for long."

"He wasn't mad," Sam said quietly.

"Hm?" Gary and Wallace said at the same time.

"He was hurt. He was worried, he was sad, and he'd do anything for her," Sam cocked her head at Steven. "Why did you do that?"

"Phoebe told me. I mean, look. I couldn't say no…" Wallace looked uncomfortable.

Sam just nodded. "Gary?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… let's just go to the center. I want to… rest." Sam mumbled, and then fainted.

**

Maxie paced back and forth in front of Archie and his spy, the former looking amused. "What has got you so tied up, Maxie?"

"Steven Stone wasn't supposed to escape today."

"I know that."

"It messes everything up." Maxie muttered angrily.

"I know that."

Maxie was quiet for a while. The two others were wise not to say anything. Then Maxie smiled evilly. "That's it."

"What's it?" The spy asked, cold curiosity in his tone.

"If we can't take the teacher from the student…" he smirked. "Then we just have to take the student from the teacher."

**

"My… freaking… head…" Sam mumbled.

A laugh issued somewhere above her. "She's awake now."

"Gary…?" Sam sighed, and opened her eyes. "What happened…?"

"You fainted." Gary said casually, sitting on a chair next to her bedside. "And you've been out since yesterday, so…"

"Wait, _yesterday_?!" Sam screeched. "WHERE AM I!?"

Gary stood up, and placed a hand on Sam's forehead. "Yeah, since yesterday. You got a high fever, so you can't move yet."

Sam sighed. "And after I went through all that trouble getting here…" her eyes opened wide. "What happened to Wallace, anyway?"

Gary blinked rapidly four times. "He… brought you here, and he had to leave. You know, Steven was kinda in a bad mood, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" Sam said sleepily. "I'm just gonna sleep for a while…" she fell asleep.

Gary looked at her with a serious look on her face. _Sam… I'm so worried about you…_

_***flash back***_

"_SAM!" Gary yelled as Sam fell to the floor. "Wallace, she-"_

_Wallace just nodded, and picked up Sam from the floor, bridal style. Gary looked at him, disgruntled. "It's not like you can carry her like this, anyway." Wallace smirked, a teasing look on his face. "Don't worry, I have a girlfriend. I'm not going to steal her off her feet or anything." He laughed._

"_Hn." Gary said, crossing his arms._

_They walked to the hospital in silence. "She's getting a fever." Wallace commented. "That's good."_

"_GOOD?! Do you… do you want her to die or something?" Gary yelled at him._

_Wallace sighed. "It's time you knew, Gary…" he said, pausing in their walk. _

"_Huh?" Gary turned his head towards Wallace, brows creased together. "Knew what?"_

"_Her gift." He said simply. "But you must promise me, swear to me, that you won't tell her anything… not until the time is right."_

"_But she already knows-"_

"_I know. I'm talking about what I'm about to tell you." Wallace said, continuing to walk. "You see… the real reason why she fainted today was because her power is starting to grow unstable." _

"_Unstable?"  
_

_Wallace nodded. "You noticed there was something wrong with her after we, er, tried to save Phoebe?" Gary nodded. "I have a strong suspicion that there was a legendary Pokemon nearby at the time."_

_Gary got confused. "But… isn't her gift supposed to control the legendary Pokemon? Why is she fainting?"_

"_Because she can't control it. You see, her power is something that can only be controlled with the proper teacher. In this case, the proper teacher is Steven. It reacts on its own, if any legendary Pokemon is nearby, and it tries to control it." He sighed. "But Sam's still young, and she can't handle this yet. Steven told you about a 'Spirit Sage' thing, right? That's the most dangerous and yet powerful thing that can happen to a person."_

"_But… all I want to know is… why Sam?" Gary said angrily. "She shouldn't have to go through all of this…"_

"_Only Steven knows the reason to that, and he wasn't supposed to run off like that earlier. He has to explain to Sam… to make her understand…" he said. "If anyone… anyone at all… controls Sam… or awakens her powers without her controlling them…" he growled a bit. "I told Steven it was a trap… they used Phoebe as bait. They want Steven away from Sam."_

"_Tell me what happens if she can't control her powers." Gary said, suddenly quiet._

_Wallace looked reluctant to tell him. "Don't tell Sam. Please."_

"_Fine. But tell me, now."_

"… _She dies."_

"_What?" Gary said._

"_Override of the senses. She can't handle it, not if Steven can't teach her in time. That's why… she has to control it before Magma and Aqua get a hold of her."_

_***end of flashback***_

Gary bit his lip. "Sam…" he whispered, reaching for her hand. He held it tightly. "I promised Wallace that I wouldn't tell, and I won't." he smiled slightly when he saw her wearing the clips he gave her. "Please, Sam… don't leave me… you can't leave me.

Because I realize it now… I love you, and I can't lose you. Not now, not ever."

**

GARY CONFESSES! Hahaha… I know, it was to a sleeping Sam, but still, at least he acknowledges the feelings. The BIG chapter coming up next. Sorry, but I'm saving Brawley for next-next chapter. And THREE OC'S are revealing themselves next chapter. So watch and see if your OC is in the next chapter!

Thebeats: Amber it is! Now just wait for the next chapter, okies?

Serpent's Ballet: Next chapter!

All who reviewed. "Thanks for taking the time to review. I really appreciate your review, since they make me sooooo happy when I know that you like my story. :)

By the way, I found a computer! HAHA! I can update a lot now! :D


	10. Taking His Purple Heart Away

"Are you… Are you seriously reading that?"

Gary groaned inwardly as Sam giggled. He closed the magazine he was reading, and turned to her with an innocent look. "What?"

"Oh, don't look at me like that…" Sam grinned. "You were riffling through my backpack again, weren't you?"

Gary shrugged. "I just picked the magazine that was half way sticking out of your bag."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Riiight. The magazine that just _happened _to be at the bottom of my bag in the secret pocket, and I should know…"

He sweatdropped. "But it wasn't like I was looking for your diary or anything! Besides, what caught my attention was page seventy-four…" he flipped through the pages as Sam sat on the hospital bed, arms crossed. Gary paused, waiting for her to realize what he was talking about.

"Oh, no," Sam stuttered, a flash of realization in her eyes. "Don't-"

Gary smirked and read aloud. "What I like most in boys. Encircle all that apply," he laughed inwardly.

"No!" Sam screeched, trying to get out of her bed.

"'Has a great personality', 'has a nice smile', 'thinks I'm the best'," _Well, that one applies to me already…_ Gary thought smugly. "Oh, and here's one you marked with a Sharpie. A thick Sharpie, I guess. 'Makes me happy'."

"GARY OAK YOU ARE SO IN FOR IT!!" Gary looked up and saw Sam glowering over him, hands bunched into fists.

Gary winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the wave of rage.

The door creaked open just as Sam pulled back a fist. "Oh!" the nurse poked her head in, looking shocked. "Am I disturbing anything?"

"Nah…" Sam replied, not missing a beat. "Just me about to knock the lights out of this guy right here for reading something he shouldn't have…"

"Oh," the nurse replied. "By the way, the doctor said you can be discharged now!"

Sam grinned hugely, forgetting her anger towards the poor boy in front of her. "I'm going to change!" she cheerfully grabbed her backpack and practically dove into the bathroom.

"So…" The nurse said quietly, as she tried to fix the bed. "How long have you two been together?"

"Wha-wha-what?" Gary asked, stuttering. "No, no, you got it all wrong…"

"Well, you two _do _look a little young, but maybe…" the nurse sighed. "Are you two married? Because I haven't heard a louder argument than the one you two had, and usually only married couples do that kind of thing-"

Gary gave her a stare. "I'm fifteen, Sam's fourteen. We couldn't get married even if we wanted to."

"Which means there _is _something there!" the nurse said triumphantly, fluffing the pillows.

"No!"

"Then you two like each other?"

"I… don't know!" Gary said defensively.

"Then _you _like her?" The nurse stopped what she was doing to give him a small smile.

"Uh…"

"I'm done! Gary, we're out of here!" Sam burst out of the door, wearing a black skirt with white lace and stuff on the edges, the same sleeveless white hoodie, and a black tank top. Gary stared at her; he had never gotten over how cute she looked.

The nurse smile to herself. "I guess that answers my question…"

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"Oh, it was nothing," the older woman smiled, and folded the blanket into a neat little rectangle.

**

The next words that Gary said made Sam's blood run cold. Sam's mouth hung open at Gary's words. No… he couldn't be saying that. "B-b-but Gary, you… you CAN'T be serious!!!" she yelled, clutching tightly the can of Coke she had bought in the Hospital's canteen.

Gary's expression was smug. "But I am."

"GAAAAAAAAAARYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" Sam whined. "I wanna go battle Brawley _now_!"

"Just think of this as revenge for not allowing me to battle Roxanne a few days ago," he said, smirking. Sam and Gary were outside the hospital of Dewford, where Sam had just gotten discharged.

"But this is _different_! I mean, look, you had to stay for like… I don't remember how many nights, while I was just… it was just an overnight stay!!" Sam sputtered, trying to convince her companion. When Gary was silent, Sam pouted. "So what do you think I'm supposed to _do _now? Go swimming?" she said, gesturing at the ocean which could be visible from where they were standing.

"Although it would be something worthwhile to see you in a swimsuit," he paused, for Sam had tried to punch him in the shoulder, "I have an even better idea." He looked at Sam, who was impatiently waiting for his excuse for not battling today. "We could go on a… we could… er… go on a…"

"Go on a…?" Sam said, raising her eyebrows.

"Da-da-da-da-da-date?" Gary said, nervous, just as Sam took a big sip of her Coke.

Sam choked.

"Are you okay?" Gary said, genuine concern clouding his face.

Sam pounded a fist against her chest, wheezing. "You… (cough, cough) just said… (wheeze) the word… (cough, cough) date."

Gary sheepishly scratched his head. "And?"

"Were you joking?" she asked, staring at him disbelievingly.

"N-"

"Oh, hey, Sam!!" a familiar (and in Gary's case, hated) voice called to Sam.

Three guesses who.

"Skye!" Sam's face lighted up. "So you made it here!"

Skye approached them, smiling that radiant smile that made Sam melt. "I should be saying the same of you, Sam…" he said, then he turned to Gary, who looked as if he was trying to hold in any emotional outburst he might have. "And how are you, Gary? I should thank you for taking care of Sam for me…" he smiled. "After all, she _is _precious to me."

Gary grit his teeth. _Precious?! PRECIOUS?! If she was PRECIOUS to you, you should've jumped in front of charging Mightyena in the nick of time! _You_ should've held her during a Twister attack by a Milotic! _You_ should be the one who knows that the curse or gift inside of her might kill her! _You _should be concerned!!!!_ He thought about saying what he thought to Skye, but maybe when Sam wasn't here. Instead, he forced a small smile, and said, "My pleasure."

Sam glowed.

"Ah, I believe you owe me something…?" Skye said, raising a friendly eyebrow at Sam.

"Huh?" Sam looked confused… and remembered, in a flash, something that happened in Chapter 8. "_Oh._"

Gary remembered too. "But-"

Skye smoothly cut him off. "I know of this really cool place on the far side of Dewford, at this time, you can see tons of wild Pokemon around there."

Sam, who didn't hear Gary, smiled. "That sounds nice."

Gary growled. "You have my permission, Sam, don't worry, just call me on the PokeNav when you're done, you don't have a curfew, and blah, blah, _blah_." He glared at the two of them one last time and stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Oh, Gary… wait – " Sam said, reaching out into air, a bit guilty, you know, after they had that big fight the other night.

Skye stared at Sam. "Is there something going on between the two of you? Because I really don't want to intrude."

"There's nothing between us, Skye, honestly." Sam sighed, and looked at Skye with a half-hearted smile on her face. "So, where's this place that you said you were gonna show me?"

**

'_knock-knock' _

"Go. Away," Steven moaned, voice muffled, since he was sitting at his desk, leaning on the desk and covering his face with his crossed arms.

The door creaked open anyway, and Steven remained motionless on his desk. "Do you understand the meaning of 'Go away'?" he said, quite grumpily.

He heard Drake's sigh. "I'm just worried about you, Steven… I've never seen you so strung-up."

"Can you blame me?!" Steven yelled, now looking Drake in the eye. "I mean, come on! She's the girl of my dreams! And Maxie just snatched her back when she was _this _close to freedom…" he looked sadly at Drake.

Drake sighed again, one of utmost sadness. "That's what happens when – "

They were interrupted when they heard Steven's PokeNav ringing. "Answer it." Drake said.

Steven picked up his PokeNav. "It's Wallace," he said, dryly, obviously not forgiving him since the last time they met. Nevertheless, he clicked the answer button. "Hello?"

"I think you might want to talk to this person," Wallace replied, without a hello.

"Wallace, what – "

"STEVEN!" a voice, one that was so familiar, one that made Steven's heart leap, squealed happily into the PokeNav. "Steven, Steven, STEVEN!"

"Oh my…" Steven smiled warmly into the PokeNav. "Phoebe, is that really…"

"Duh!" Phoebe giggled happily. "I'm so happy, Steven, really! It was totally awesome, Wallace just burst into the jail place, he used all of his Pokemon at the same time, busted me out, and now I'm in Sootopolis!"

"That's not far from here!" Steven said, excited. He saw, from the corner of his eyes, the rest of the Elite Four(Sidney and Glacia arrived at the door just in time to hear Steven say, 'Phoebe, is that really…') looking at him warmly.

"I know…" Phoebe's voice turned down on the volume. "Hold on, Wallace wants to talk to you, Steven…"

"Oh, okay," Steven said.

"And Steven?" Phoebe added.

"Yeah?"

"I… really think we need to talk about… _something_… when I get back."

Steven blushed. "Yeah."

She turned the phone over to Wallace, who waited smugly for Steven's reply. "Wallace… you really did that?"

"'Course I did," Wallace said plainly. "I mean, I felt guilty, okay? And besides, I had nothing to do."

Steven grinned. "Thanks, Wallace. Thank you so much."

**

Gary shoved his hands in his pockets, looking disgruntled. Well, he didn't _look _disgruntled, he _was_ disgruntled. _Ugh, I am going to _kill_ that _stupid _Skye when I see him alone, believe me. Now Sam has to go on a _stupid _date, with a _stupid _guy, to this probably _stupid _place, and without _stupid _me!_

"Excuse me, are you Gary Oak?" a monotone, emotionless voice asked him from behind his back. He turned around and saw twins, both female, with long blonde hair, and golden eyes. The only difference was their shirt; one, the one who had spoken, had a green t-shirt with an orange Pokeball symbol on the lower right corner of her shirt, while the other one, (who looked strangely happier than her twin) had an orange t-shirt with a green Pokeball symbol.

"Yeah," Gary replied grumpily, not in the mood. "And what's it to you two?"

The happy one grinned. "I'm Amber Daffodil Elm, and this is my sister, Topaz Rose Elm!"

"Elm…?"

"Yeah, Professor Elm's our dad." Topaz said, emotionless, again.

"But, according to what daddy said, you should be with a girl right now!" Amber exclaimed. "Where is she?"

"You mean the one with purple eyes?" Gary rolled his eyes. "She's not around."

Topaz and Amber now had an identical look of horror that Gary had to ask what was wrong. "There's a spy from Team Magma, we just figured that out," Amber explained. "We're in on Sam's gift too, daddy told us everything, since he couldn't come here himself. But anyway, the spy is a nephew of Maxie, Team Magma's leader."

"And he's been trying to get close to Sam all this time, so he could strike when the moment was ready," Topaz continued.

Gary was shocked. _It couldn't be Julia, Drew, May or Harley, right? _But another person crossed his mind. _But… that's not… how can it be…_

"Gary, wherever Sam is now, _please _tell us that she's not with someone named Skye Storne."

**

"Wow, you were right!" Sam awed at the scenery, just as an Aron poked its' head out from a boulder in front of her. "It's so cool here!"

Skye just smiled, then knelt to the ground, to get something from his bag.

"Hey, what're you looking for?" Sam asked, looking at him.

"I… wanted to get my PokeDex. You know, moments like this, you just gotta take advantage of it," Skye said, fishing into the pockets of his bag.

"Oh…okay," Sam shrugged. "I just thought I saw a Taillow over there, hold on, I wanna go and catch it," she rushed off before Skye could reply.

_The better._ Skye thought, as he pulled out a syringe and filled it with a strange looking liquid.

**

Gary bumped into various people as he rushed through the semi-busy streets of Dewford, Topaz and Amber following him. "God, I am so _stupid_!" Gary ranted. "I mean, I should've seen it! I should've known that this was going to happen sooner or later! _Come on_!" he growled under his breath.

Amber and Topaz looked at each other, exasperated. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, and it's not you're fault…" Amber sang.

**

Sam looked at the fainted Taillow on the ground, who had finally been taken down by Poochyena (who had, yes, learned Take Down) and threw a Pokeball at it. "Please, please, come on…" Sam begged the Pokeball, not knowing of the danger that was lurking nearby.

(ding)

"Yessssss!" Sam grinned and picked up the Pokeball, and examined it between her hands. "This is gonna be a real help when I go battle Brawley."

"Sam?" Skye called out, voice lost in the bushes.

"I'm right here, Skye!" Sam called back. "I caught the Taillow!" she grinned.

"That's great…" Skye said, finally stepping from the shadows (which made him look strangely sinister), and smiling at her.

Sam thought, unconsciously, how Gary would probably prod and poke her to show him the new Pokemon, or tease her until kingdom come about how she had that awful taste in Pokemon. A smile stretched across her face.

"Why are you so happy?" Skye asked, sitting down on the ground. Sam walked over to where he was sitting, and sat down next to him, hugging her knees.

"Oh, it's just… Well, I don't wanna talk about it." Sam shrugged.

Skye slipped his hand into hers. "Were you thinking about _me_, by any chance?" he teased.

Sam smiled. "That's between me and my brain."

The boy smiled to himself, then reached his other hand over to cup her cheek. "Sam… you know I really like you, right?" He waited for Sam to nod. "Well… what I wanted to say is…" he leaned closer.

Sam's heart went into overdrive. _Is he going to… is he… _Sam was breathless as she stared at Skye's soft, grey eyes. But her eyes widened when the feelings in his eyes became cold, calculating, and smug. "What I wanted to say, is…" he leaned even closer, and Sam just realized the absence of his hand in hers a little too late, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the syringe. "Gotcha."

Sam gasped as the syringe puncture her bare skin on the shoulder. "Skye… what are you…"

"You mean you never figured it out?" Skye smirked; it was something that Sam immediately resented. "I'm a _spy_, Sam, someone ordered by my uncle to eliminate people like you."

**

Steven waited, restlessly, in his office. It had been about an hour since Phoebe had called him, and Sootopolis couldn't be that far away, right?

His PokeNav rang again. It was Wallace. "Steven?" He asked, before Steven could say anything. "Please, you have to meet Phoebe and I at Dewford town, near that little lagoon or whatever that you were looking for rare stones a while back."

Steven's brows rose. "Why?"

"According to Gary Oak, Sam is in danger."

**

Sam gasped as a tingly sensation began to spread throughout her whole body. "What… the hell is in this thing?"

"My uncle's scientists created it," Skye smirked, shrugging at the same time. "It's a combination of Stun Spore and Sleeping Powder. You know, without any ghastly side-effects or anything."

She was close to tears; how could she have been so _stupid_? "I can't believe I trusted you!" she said angrily.

"Well, you better believe it, Princess," Skye sneered at her. "Girls like you are always like that. Always ready to trust the next person that sits next to them."

"Shut up!" Sam snapped. "I should've listened to Gary!"

"Oh, sweet, innocent, hurt, Gary," Skye sighed. "He was something that hindered Team Magma. I'll have to eliminate him too, after we're done with harnessing your power."

The word 'power' triggered something in Sam's mind, but she didn't know why. Then she knew… _Didn't Steven say something about me controlling my power? Or was that Wallace? Any way, I still have no clue on how to control it yet_! She panicked when she started feeling drowsy. Skye noticed it too. "I guess the Sleeping Powder is starting to take effect." He smiled.

Sam's eyes started to close unwillingly. "Skylar Storne, I will… Get… you… for this…" she mumbled, and fell asleep.

**

Wallace, Phoebe, Gary, Amber and Topaz waited for Steven to arrive. "What's taking him so long?!" Gary yelled into the sky.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Knowing him, he's probably taking a loooooooong time to spike his hair up in the perfect way."

"Hey, isn't that an Altaria?" Amber pointed out, only a few hundred yards away. They looked; Altaria weren't supposed to be in areas in Dewford.

Gary caught a sight of Skye's blonde hair. "That's Skye and Sam!"

Wallace stepped into action. "Milotic, get out here." Milotic appeared in a flash of red light in the water near them. "Hydro Pump that Altaria!"

Skye caught sight of the Hydro Pump. "Altaria, get out of the way!"

Wallace growled. "I can't attack him, not from here," he said, shoulders falling in defeat. "Any other attack I can use might hurt Sam."

"Typhlosion!" Topaz called.

"Arcanine!" Amber yelled.

"Flamethrower!" they yelled in unison, calling out their best Pokemon. A huge pillar of fire appeared in front of Skye and his Altaria.

"Wait, are you two insane?" Gary yelled. "If water might hurt Sam then what do you think _fire _will do?!"

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Gary, if you'd _use your head_ a little more, I'm sure that you'd see that the joint Flamethrower is blocking the way."

Gary looked at the Flamethrower. "Oh."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

Suddenly, the Altaria (with Skye and an unconscious Sam) drew near to them. "If you want to make this a Pokemon battle, be my guest!" Skye laughed. "Altaria, Wing Attack!"

"Arcanine!" Amber called. "Counter with Fire Spin!"

"Dodge it, now!" Skye called.

"Stop it!" Gary yelled.

Amber and Skye stared at him. "What?"

Gary narrowed his eyes. "This is solely between _me _and _him_." He growled.

Skye smirked. "Bring it on, Oak."

"Umbreon! Tackle!"

"Altaria, dodge!"

"Metang, Psychic!" Steven's voice called from (again) about six feet above their heads.

Skye struggled against Metang's strong Psychic attack. "Steven Stone…" he growled.

Steven floated down to the ground. "Hmm… And to think I thought you were a nice guy."

"You were wrong, weren't you?" Skye taunted. "I still win! Magma wins! I still have the girl!" Skye smirked, as with great difficulty, he withdrew a Pokeball from his belt. "Wheezing, Smog!"

They were covered with smoke, and Gary started coughing. _No! _

They heard Skye laugh, and there was a flutter of wings.

"No!" Gary called out, amongst other coughs.

He heard Wallace. "Milotic, clear this out with a gentle Twister!"

There was a strong wind, and the smoke cleared. Gary couldn't believe that she was gone. "No… no, no…" he mumbled to himself. He saw something glittering on the ground where Skye had been hovering. Gary walked over and picked it up; it was one of the clips he had given Sam. It was the one with her name embedded on with purple gems.

Skye had taken Sam and his heart with him.

**

Skye smiled triumphantly. _Uncle will be proud._ He thought happily, flying closer towards the hideout.

Maxie was waiting for him, naturally. He smiled at patted Skye's back as Skye entered his office, Altaria carrying Sam on her back. "If there's anyone who could've done it, it would be you, Skye…"

Skye smirked. "It was a pleasure."

His uncle looked at the sleeping Sam, and smiled. "Tomorrow, Skye, we will have the world, and the two most powerful legendary Pokemon in the Hoenn region will belong to Team Magma and Aqua…"

**

"You're actually going to bring him to Maxie and Archie?" Phoebe shrieked at Steven.

Steven nodded as he and Gary stared getting ready for leaving on Steven's Metang. "Sorry I have to leave you so soon, Phoebe."

"Who said you're leaving me?" Phoebe demanded. "I'm going with you."

"NO!" Gary and Steven said at the same time. Gary didn't want to be with them, knowing they were going to be all awkward and stuff, and Steven didn't want Phoebe to come, knowing that she'd probably get in trouble anyway and he'd lose her again.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "I'm not _that_ awful," she sighed. "Besides, don't you need me? With my superior Ghost Pokemon that can _sneak into secret lairs without anyone noticing_?" she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

Gary grinned. "You're coming along!" Steven groaned.

**

_Stupid head… stupid eyes… stupid heartache… _Sam thought rubbing her eyes, since they had a hard time opening. _Stupid SKYE…_ she added, as she took a look at her surroundings.

She was in a nice, comfy master bedroom, sitting on the most luxurious bed she had ever seen, with red satin bedsheets. _This isn't right, _she thought as she cocked her head. Somehow, she imagined it to be something like what Phoebe was in, a dark, cold dungeon with almost no light, and slightly damp. But _no,___there was a plasma screen, a computer (which strangely looked as if it had internet connection) and a refrigerator. On closer inspection, the refrigerator was stocked.

"Am I in heaven?" She wondered aloud.

"Close, but, no…" a cold voice replied from the doorway. There stood a man she had never seen before, but the uniform was familiar.

"Are you from… Team Magma?" Sam asked slowly, still drowsy from the injection that Skye had given her.

He nodded once. "I'm Skye's uncle. You must know him, right?" he said, smirking.

Sam narrowed her eyes at the man. "Shut up," she told him, sitting up straighter on the bed.

He laughed. "I'm Maxie, leader of Team Magma. I think you know why I'm here…"

Cold, hard fear made its way up Sam's throat. _Yes, I do know. _She thought, closing her eyes. _But I don't know what to do._

_Gary… I need you._

**

Gary sighed for the umpteenth time. There were, of course, many reasons for that.

Number one: Sam wasn't with him. This was self-explanatory, and he felt like his heart had been ripped out. Number two: Either it was just him, or Steven's Metang was slower than a Slugma. Number three: Due to the fact that Steven, in fact, had two Metangs, Gary was stuck on one by himself, and was forced to watch Steven and Phoebe look at each other sappily, since Gary had to be behind them. Number four: There was a little voice in the back of his head that kept repeating to him endlessly that it was his fault, not Sam's, and maybe, just a little bit of Skye's fault. And Number Four: He was pissed by the fact that Sam had agreed to go on a date with _Skye_, after he had asked her _first_. There was obviously no justice in that.

He looked up again, to see Steven and Phoebe looking at each other sappily – again – and it took all of Gary's strength not to yell, 'Oh just stop making me sick and jealous and start making out already!'

Yes. Life was tough.

**

Sam winced as one of the scientists of Team Aqua poked her shoulder. "Hm… she's almost every bit as human as everyone else in this room," he concluded, pushing his annoying glasses that were practically little circles up his nose bridge.

"What did you expect, a Pokemon?" Sam snapped.

The scientist raised his eyebrows, and wrote something on a notebook. Sam leaned over to see what he was writing, and was shocked: Speaks as if she was a normal teenage girl.

"Oh, I'll show you a normal teenage girl alright!" Sam snarled, and clenched her jaws.

"Samantha, behave," Archie drawled from his big chair raised on a platform. Sam was honestly was getting annoyed with this leader. Maxie, she could handle. But this, Archie, she just wanted to rip his head out with her hands, and feed it to the pool of Carvanha (which was blocking the door, meaning she couldn't escape).

"I'm not _Samantha_, I'm Sam," she replied, biting her lip so as not to say anything that she would regret.

"Fine, Sam…" Archie said, almost lazily. "Just let my scientists poke you and calculate stuff, and then you can go back to the room."

Sam growled a bit.

Another scientist looked her over. "You look as if you've been through a lot of pain," she remarked, penciling it into her notebook.

"No kidding." Sam said, crossing her arms. "I mean, it's not every day that you discover that the guy you liked was a spy, that he was lying to you all this time, and was supposed to eliminate you from the very beginning."

Archie sighed.

**

Skye had a straight, serious face as he stood in front of the entrance to the main lair. _Stop it, Skye, stop it! _He thought to himself. _Stop feeling so guilty! It's not as if you had a choice… on second thought you did, but… _Skye bunched his hands into fists.

"Aggron! Stomp!" Skye looked in surprise at the sky (okay, that was kinda lame) and gasped as the sun was blocked out by Steven Stone's Aggron.

"Ugh…" Skye muttered as he stumbled backwards just in time. He coughed as a cloud of dust appeared.

"Go, get in, I'll take care of this," he heard someone saying, and realized it was Gary.

"You sure?" Another voice replied, sounding like a woman in her twenties.

Skye heard a cracking of knuckles. "Oh, don't worry, this'll be over soon."

There was no affirmation, no 'be careful's', and no sound of any steps on the ground. _Man, uncle's gonna kill me._

The dust cleared, and there stood Gary Oak, with no sign of any Pokemon. But it was the look on his face that made Skye step backwards one step. "I'll just ask you one thing, Skye…" Gary said, bitter. "Why?"

"That's easy to answer," Skye replied. "When we grew up together, I was always the good one, remember?" Gary nodded slowly. "I wanted to be bad, I wanted to be feared, it would do no good if I was always, 'oh, he's such a nice boy, he does everything he's supposed to!'" he mocked his mother's voice, as Gary remembered it, anyhow. "But I don't want that. I want to do things against what I want."

"That's dark," Gary said, almost not caring.

"And then something happened," Skye continued, almost ignoring Gary. "It was an accident. I know I didn't mean it. But still, the house was gone, ashes blowing in the wind. So was my family. Then uncle found me, told me I could be bad and stuff, and there."

Gary came closer to Skye. "And you just _had_ to bring Sam into this."

_Sam_, Skye thought. Oh, were they reaching a subject that Skye knew was a tense spot.

"My heart," Gary pronounced. "You brought _my heart _into this battle. And don't think I'm gonna forget that."

Skye couldn't help it; he backed away from his former friend.

"So you know what?" Gary said, progressing. "I'm not gonna battle you, I'm not gonna verbally abuse you or whatever…" he rolled his eyes. Then they were face-to-face. Gary pulled back his arm and punched, with all his might, Skye, in the face. As Skye slumped to the floor, unconscious and bleeding from a split lip, Gary's eyes narrowed. _Don't ever mess with her again. _

**

Phoebe looked around the base. "There's a seventy-percent chance that we are going to get lost in here," she said.

"I know," Steven agreed.

Hearing voices, they ducked behind a crate, and listened as two Aqua members passed by. "Man, the old geezers are taking so long," one groaned. "I mean, the scientists don't actually need this much protection, right?"

"What I can't believe is why we can't look at the procedure," the other replied. Steven's ears perked up at that one.

"It's not even a procedure!" The first one protested. "They're just looking at this girl who's supposed to have this wicked power with her! They don't plan on doing anything yet!"

Steven nodded, a slight smile on his face. Phoebe caught the expression on his face, and smiled. "Go, Banette," she whispered, taking out her Pokeball.

Banette appeared in front of the two, arms held out. "Ban… banette ban…"

"Holy-! How did it get in here!" the second one yelled, freaking out.

"I don't know, but if it's a trainers Pokemon, we've gotta get the boss!" the first one said, then briskly walked in one direction, the second one following.

Steven and Phoebe looked at each other at the same time, and jumped out of their hiding place once the cost was clear. Just then, Gary showed up, looking strangely satisfied.

"Let's go save Sam," Phoebe grinned.

**

I know, I know, I'm waaaay overdue for this chapter, so don't kill me or anything… it's just my grandpa died, and well, nothing else to say.

I actually wasn't planning for Sam to get captured. It was on a whim. Just added it, I don't know why. And the last thing I entered in the chapter was actually the first part, you know, with the magazine and the Sharpie, and the nurse and everything. I love it when people assume whatever they want to assume about Sam and Gary.

In the next chapter, another two OC's will be joining, including Amber and Topaz. And, fortunately for you guys, a very sweet moment between Gary and Sam.

To make it up to you guys for the late update, expect the next chapter by this Sunday or Saturday. If I can't post it then, then it's for a really good reason.

Ja~


	11. It Was This Purpley Close

"Wait, keeping me in this pathetic excuse of an evil lair is one thing, but handcuffing me and chaining me to the bed is another," Sam protested feebly as a Magma goon started clicking the handcuffs closed.

"Sorry, not my choice," he said sourly. There was something in his tone that made Sam look up at him.

"You always have a choice," Sam said softly.

He looked at her in surprise, and just wordlessly clicked the chains and stuff back into place, and exited the room.

Sam sighed, and, exhausted, fell asleep for the night, dreaming of when she'd be reunited with Gary.

**

To make what should've been about three paragraphs short, Gary, Phoebe, and Steven wandered around the lair, but since the main lair was huge, they had to sleep in for the night.

They woke up the next morning, and lo and behold, they found themselves totally lost in about ten minutes.

"I swear I saw that crate thing over there the last time we went in a circle!" Phoebe whisper-yelled at Steven, so that no one could hear. Lovers Quarrel.

"If you knew that we were going in circles you should've just told me that earlier!" Steven whisper-yelled back.

"Well, you were too busy talking to yourself to pay any attention to me!"

"I don't talk to myself!"

"Oh, you sure do, or what, am I deaf?!"

"I don't think you're deaf, blind, maybe!"

"You just-"

Gary sighed to himself. _Is this what Sam and I look like? _Finally, after five minutes of watching them pointlessly fight with each other, Gary reached his hands out, yanked on Steven's head, and slammed Steven's forehead into Phoebe's. "Shut up or I'm doing it with Phoebe, too."

Steven growled.

**

Sam slammed her head into the wall. _I'm now officially going insane. I am really, officially, going insane. _She thought, surprised. _The silence is almost unbearable, the loneliness is awful, and I don't know why I just want Gary to be here!_

(Bang) (Bang) (Bang)

_See? I CAN'T EVEN FEEL THE PAIN ANYMORE!_

"Are you alright?" Sam turned her head in surprise to the Magma goon who had chained her in earlier in the doorway.

"No _duh_," Sam replied. "I miss my Pokemon. I miss my friend. Heck, I don't even know if he regards me as a friend now. I mean, I left him for an idiot playboy!" Sam yelled.

He chuckled. "Yes, we all have those days."

Sam rose her eyebrows in surprise. "What's your name?"

"I'm Mason," he said, smiling at her. "From what the records say, you're Samantha, right?"

"Sam," she corrected him. "Everyone who knows me calls me Sam."

"Hello…" Mason said, stepping into the light. Sam saw his face clearly that time; he couldn't have been more than her age, maybe he could've been her age. He had shaggy, dark brown hair and royal blue eyes. He smiled at her; and she noticed his dimples. "Sam, I'm here to save you."

**

Steven and Phoebe walked in a stony silence, while Gary sighed over and over again. _This is what happens when you decide to go on a rescue mission with a soon-to-be couple that can't stop fighting. Wait. Is that what Wallace and Steven thought of me and Sam before? But we're _not _a soon to be couple, right? _

"Oof!" Gary was startled out of his mental rant when Phoebe cried out. He saw Phoebe on the ground, and a boy who looked a little bit younger than him, rubbing his head.

"Who are you?" Gary asked. If it were someone from Magma or Aqua, he would've done something else, (which went along the lines of, 'and he pulled back his fist and punched the Magma-slash-Aqua member into next week, and probably two of his front teeth, and pinned him to the wall, demanding that he told him where the heck Sam was') but he saw that instead of the typical uniform, he was wearing light blue shorts and a plain red shirt.

The boy stood up, and before answering, offered a hand to Phoebe. She took it, and he helped her up. He winked at Phoebe before answering. "I'm Evens, James Evens."

"And what are you doing here, Evens James Evens?" Gary mocked.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me," James replied easily. He towered a bit over Gary, and had light brown, messy hair that ended just below his ears. He stared curiously at Gary with his honey-colored eyes, with a seemingly innocent expression.

Steven opened his mouth, but Gary stopped him. "I'm here for a friend. And you?"

"Rescuing someone," he said breezily. "If you're not wearing the uniform, then I guess you're not one of them."

Gary narrowed his eyes as he remembered someone who _hadn't _been wearing a uniform, and was the worst kind of 'them'. "Just because you're not wearing the uniform doesn't mean that."

James laughed. "I like you, Gary Oak. You're very amusing," he teased.

"How do you –"

"I'm from Lilycove, and I met Professor Birch somewhere along the road, and he said he needed someone like me. So, he told me about this guy named Gary Oak, which is you, who needed help with stuff and saving the world," he shrugged. "Then he introduced me to Mason Rider, who's with me now. He knows that you've lost track of Sam, and well, we're here to help."

Gary blinked. _Oh, great. Two _more_ guys to that are going to steal Sam away from me._

**

There was a clinking of chains as they fell to the floor, then Sam rubbed her wrists. "You know what? I think that you are a really great person."

Mason Rider smiled. "I just want to help. I'm here with my friend, James Evens. We're here on orders from Professor Birch."

"Professor Birch?" Sam's eyes lit up. "How is he?"

"Same old, same old," he laughed. "Now come on, everyone's on their lunch break right now, and we have to meet up with James in the main hangar. Be quiet," he cautioned her.

They tiptoed out of the room (which you really couldn't call a dungeon, no matter how you looked at it), with Mason taking care to lock the door.

**

"Let me get this straight." Phoebe said, taking in a deep breath. "You're on our side, Mason – that's his name, right? – went undercover here in Magma base, and is gonna bust Sam out?"

"Pretty much," James replied. "And did I ever tell you that you are _gorgeous_?" he said, smirking and smiling at the same time at her.

Steven looked like he was about to hit the minor, so Phoebe stepped in. "Flirt with girls your own age, you little playboy."

Gary wished Phoebe hadn't said that. _Now he's gonna start flirting with Sam. Can't I get a break?!_

**

Mason and Sam tensed when there was a sound of an alarm. "The prisoner has escaped! Search everywhere!"

Mason cursed under his breath. "What did I do wrong?"

"Maybe we should figure that out later and _run_!" Sam yelled. It was too late; Magma goons had spotted them. Mason sighed and withdrew two Pokeballs.

"Sam, go on ahead. I can handle this one."

"But-"

"Tell James I can handle it. Go." It was more of a command, and Sam couldn't do anything to say no. So she turned around.

Mason nodded once at her retreating back, and called out two Pokemon. "Feraligatr! Blastoise! Hydro Pump, together!"

**

_**Beep… Beep… Beep…**_

"They've set off the alarms," Phoebe and Steven said in unison, both relieved and at the same time, annoyed.

"I have to find her!" Gary said, going into protector mode.

"No." Gary looked at James incredulously, looking for signs of insane-ness, but there were none. Steven and Phoebe had the same looks on their faces. James just laughed. "Don't you know who we're talking about?"

"No…" the three said at the same time. Steven was silent. _The name is familiar somehow… but why… _

"That's it!" Steven cried out. "He beat the Champion of the Kanto region! The youngest one ever to do that!"

Gary was surprised. So _that's _why the name was kinda floating around in his head. He had the vaguest impression of someone beating the crap out of him on one of his many journeys around Kanto, and Mason Rider must have been one of them.

"Sam's basically safe if she's with Mason, so don't worry. We should just wait here." James sat down comfortably on one of the crate things, and fished through his bag.

Phoebe shrugged at Steven, who nodded at Gary, and they sat down. _Why is there something in my head urging me to ignore James and get on with it??? _

**

_I have to make it out of here… _Sam thought desperately, the passageways strangely quiet as her sneakers pounded against the ground. _Gary… oh, I have to apologize to him… Come on, I have to make it out of here. _

"Oh, don't run away, Sam…" Sam turned around to face Archie (_ugh, it's the creepy one_) and Maxie. "The party's just begun." Maxie laughed.

On an impulse, Sam stepped backwards. "I'm not exactly a party girl, if you know what I mean."

Archie scoffed. "Do you want to make this easier or harder?" He asked, tossing a Pokeball up and down into the air.

"Hmm… what about I make this _never_?" Sam quipped, turning around to run. She cringed mentally when she came face-to-face with Maxie, who had circled around to block the other corridor.

"Ugh…" Sam mumbled. _DAMN! No Pokemon, No Mason… god, I'm an idiot. I should've just stayed with Mason. No… No Gary! I AM SUCH AN IDIOT! If I didn't go with Skye in the first place, this never would've happened!_

"Sam?" the world stood still as Sam caught sight of the person calling her name.

**

_Oh, thank god I was right. Curse Mason for leaving her; curse James for overestimating Mason. Sam, you're safe. _Gary was flooded with emotion (And he thought that seemed very strange for him) as he saw Sam. He inhaled. It was as if a huge weight on his chest had melted.

Sam's eyes were wide as she took in Gary's figure. Then she was reminded of the trouble surrounding her. "Gary, just go!"

"What?" Gary looked around – from his angle, he couldn't see Archie and Maxie.

"Camerupt, Fire Spin!" Maxie called out his Pokemon; at the same time, ordering it to attack Gary.

"No!" Sam's voice was drowned out by the roar of a Fire Spin.

"Blastoise; again! Hydro Pump!" Mason dashed out of nowhere and his Blastoise blocked Gary from the Fire Spin, creating a lot of mist.

Gary dashed towards Sam and grabbed her hand. "Come on, while we have the chance."

Wordlessly, Sam gripped his hand tighter – it was her way of saying that she was glad he was here… with her. Gary smiled to himself.

**

They had escaped.

Mason had a bruise on his knee from tripping on the stairs, but there they were: Mason and James, riding on Mason's Fearrow, Sam and Gary, and Phoebe and Steven sharing a Metang. "So…" James stretched out. "We did it."

Gary sighed. "You know what, if you say that again, I'm gonna _pay _Mason to push you off."

Sam laughed, and Gary had to smile a bit at that. Steven didn't miss that, but said nothing. _Let's just let their destiny take its course._

"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, what should you two do?" Phoebe stared pointedly at Sam and Gary.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to battle Brawley. I mean, I caught a Taillow!" Sam grinned, excited. Mason had found her Pokemon in a secret room while he was undercover. "Thanks again, Mason."

Mason smiled back at her, and Gary realized that maybe Mason wasn't so bad. I mean, anyone could tell that the smile that he showed was genuine, and had no signs of love. The same was with Sam.

"I don't agree with that," Steven said. "Isn't that exactly what Maxie and Archie would think you to do?"

"_Excuse me_?" Sam said, her tone dangerous. "Are you actually suggesting that I _stop _battling Gyms?"

Steven shrank back, which made Phoebe, Mason and James laugh a bit. "No, no, actually, just, maybe… lay low for a while…" Steven knew it was hopeless. "Honestly, you could be kidnapped ten times and all you'd want is to battle."

Sam laughed a bit.

**

"_Who_ was the _imbecile _who actually thought that there was _nothing _wrong with having a _new _recruit in the vicinity _today_, in the _main lair_?" Maxie hissed, staring out at the fifty-plus Magma recruits and the sixty-plus Aqua recruits who had been in the main lair today.

As Maxie suspected, everyone was silent. "Let me remind you that even though I am _legions _nicer than Archie, I can turn into your worst _nightmare _in a second." He let that sink in. "Dismissed."

**

They landed on soft, Dewford soil, Sam half-asleep. Gary smiled, and started to carry her bridal-style. He caught everyone staring at him as he reached out for her. "What?"

"And you told me they weren't dating yet!" James yelled pointedly at Phoebe.

"But they aren't!" she protested. She looked at Gary and Sam. "Are you?"

"NO!" Gary yelled defensively. _Too _defensively, if you know what I mean.

"There's no need to be defensive, Gary Oak," Steven reprimanded.

"Oh, just shut up, all of you." Gary leaned over and took Sam in his arms, smiling.

**

Sam woke up the next morning in the Pokemon Center, in a room. She slowly opened one eyelid to see Gary still in the room, walking around, kneeling down, then walking around again. "Gary?" she said slowly, sitting up on the bed.

"Hey!" Gary turned around and smiled at her. "How are you doing? Are you hungry? Do you feel okay? Do you have a headache?"

Sam was taken aback. What was with 'mother Gary'? "Are you feeling alright?" she said cautiously.

"No… in fact, now I'm continuously haunted by the fact that you might disappear – again – and I don't want that to happen!"

Sam blinked.

"I just want you to be safe," Gary said quietly, looking at the floor.

She sighed, and walked forward until she was right in front of Gary. Her face crumpled up, about to cry, then she threw her arms around him. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, face buried in his chest. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm soooo freaking sorry!"

Gary softened immediately at her hug, and wrapped his arms around her. "You don't need to be-"

"Shut up with that crap, Gary!" Sam said, and a damp spot that Gary felt on his chest made him realize that Sam was crying. "I shouldn't have believed in Skye, I shouldn't have gone out with him, he's a jerk and I should've said yes to _you_!"

Gary patted her back as she started sobbing; before, he would've reveled at this (when he still hated her, that is) but now? He just wanted to comfort her.

"I missed you, Gary…," Sam whispered, voice muffled.

"What?" Gary asked again. He knew she said something about missing him, but there was no harm in making sure.

"I… missed… you…" she coughed. "Don't make me say it again."

He laughed. That felt… well… it felt like his heart had risen up somewhere. Sam tried to release herself from Gary's grip; after all, she had nothing left to say, but Gary held his arms firmly around her.

Confused, she looked up at him, and it almost tore him in two, watching her with her teary eyes and those tear streaks. Without a word, he removed one hand from her back and used his thumb to wipe her tears.

He smiled gently at her; Sam forgot how uncomfortable (and strangely, pleasant) the situation was and thought about how out of character Gary was.

"Gary, I…"

He shushed her as he leaned in so close to her face. Sam bit her lip. _Is he going to… oh my gosh oh my gosh… _When their lips were only inches apart…

**BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG**

Surprised, Sam leaned backwards, and Gary missed his mark, if you understand. Taking advantage of the situation, Sam ducked out of his arms (feeling strange when she felt weird by doing that) and opened the door. She was greeted with the sight of Phoebe. "GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!" she grinned.

"Why are you so happy?" Gary asked, grumbling. Sam looked at him, bit her lip, and turned in the opposite direction.

"Okay, guys, look. I _finally _convinced Steven that you can challenge the Gym here –"

"YES! Oh, thank you Phoe-"

"I'm not done yet," Phoebe said, almost sadly. "See, you have to wait for five days of no activity from Teams Magma and Aqua. He was gonna make it a month, but I _begged _him."

Sam sighed. "Well, I have to admit, it's better than one month. Thanks, Phoebe…" Sam smiled hugely at her.

Phoebe smiled back, and noticed Gary… in an emo corner, sulking. "What's wrong with him?"

Sam blushed. "Long story."

"I see." Suddenly, Phoebe's PokeNav vibrated. "Hello?"

Sam respected Phoebe's privacy and went over to Gary. "Gary? What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know." Gary said grumpily.

"Gary… stop doing this to me!" Sam pleaded. "Stop… confusing me… okay?"

"What?"

"Stop. It. I don't know what I feel right now, and you're not making it any better. So just… please stop confusing me."

She walked away, leaving Gary confused.

**

"I got it! I got it!" Amber squealed as she dove for the Frisbee. Then Arcanine snatched it out of the air before her very eyes. "Don't got it."

Topaz smirked – the only thing closest to a smile she could do. "Good girl, Arcanine!" Arcanine barked.

Phoebe had decided that since Sam would definitely be bored out of her wits for five days, she'd called all of the friend Sam had met (or Gary had met, in Amber and Topaz's case) for a beach party. Who-pee.

Sam lay down on a beach towel, soaking up the sun, listening to Phoebe's iPod, which she had borrowed. _Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my POOOOOKER FACE…_ She sung inside her head. The boys, being boys, were in the water, talking about girls.

"You've never tried your first kiss?" James stared incredulously at Mason and Gary. "GOD, you're missing out on a lot."

Mason rolled his eyes. "So tell me, James, what _is _it like?"

"It's like… ponies, and rainbows and chocolate ice cream mixed into one." James said dreamily.

"Let me guess," Gary said sarcastically. "You made out with a girl you met in a bar who ate chocolate ice cream, raised a farm of Ponyta, and had Lucky Charms cereal for breakfast."

James flushed. "HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"

Meanwhile, with Sam and the iPod, she found a song that was strangely annoying and yet addicting to her at the same time.

_Cuz when I'm with him I am… thinking of you… thinking of you_

Sam immediately looked at the screen. _Thinking of You by Katy Perry. Not a bad song. _

Amber and Topaz, who had taken an immediate liking to Sam the moment they met her, plopped themselves on the beach. "Gosh, who knew Frisbee could be so tiring," Amber said, fanning her face with her hand.

"No kidding." Topaz replied, swishing her long hair out of her face. Sam laughed.

"So… wanna have some quality girl time? You look like you need it," Amber pointed out, and reclined comfortably on the sand.

"I need a lot, thank you." Sam sighed and sat up so she could hug her knees and look out on the horizon.

"Tell me everything," Amber said sympathetically.

"Okay first, I start out with hating Gary's guts and everything about him and then I start liking him, even just a little, then enters Skye and I, heck, fell in love with him, sometime after that Gary and I started acting all weird and stuff since we entered this cutest couples contest thing and then we won second place and then we became almost like friends then I think maybe the next day he asked me out but then Skye came and then _he _asked me out so I said yes and then I felt all guilty cuz Gary stormed out and everything and then Skye fooled me, he betrayed me and my heart, and then I realize that maybe love isn't all that and then Gary rescues me, I feel something weird in my stomach, so I start thinking I have the flu but I don't, and then this morning he was just really weird, and being all concerned and stuff, and he freaking ALMOST KISSED ME and then Phoebe interrupted and then I felt all weird and stuff and now I don't know if I like Gary or not, because I don't want to be fooled again and I just don't want to-"

Topaz silenced Sam's rant with a finger. "Okay, the first part, Amber can handle that. But the second part, with the 'I don't know if I like Gary or not because I don't want to be fooled again' I can handle." Sam smiled a bit at that. "See, Skye didn't exactly leave you for another girl, right?"

"Uh-huh…" Sam nodded.

"He betrayed you for strictly _business_ deals. Not matters of two-timing crap. That happened to me."

"What?"

"Both." Topaz scoffed. "Imagine what it feels like when you see your boyfriend –now ex- making out with another girl… while he's wearing a Team Rocket uniform. Can you get any faker?"

Sam winced.

"On the other hand, we got my sis Amber, who's got that icky-ugly fairytale happy ending. I think she'd want to tell you her story."

Amber giggled. "It actually has similarities with your story, Sam," she said, winking. "My best friend and I joined one of those things and then… they just fell into place."

"But you don't look happy about it," Sam commented.

"No…" Amber admitted. "In fact… it isn't anything like what Topaz described. And I don't have the courage to break up-"

"HEADS UP!" James' voice called to them. While the girls had been so immersed in love stories and whatnot, the boys had started playing ball. The wind had carried the inflatable beach ball over to Topaz's side, and too late, the ball bonked (Yes, I said bonked) Topaz in the forehead.

James rushed over to Topaz, hands in the air. "I didn't mean it! Honestly, I'm so sorry!"

Topaz rubbed her forehead, annoyed. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Evens, or what ever your name was."

Topaz looked up at the same time James looked down, and there was something as they locked eyes… just a little spark that James felt, but it was _something. _Amber gasped, and Sam realized that she noticed it too.

Was there such a thing as love at first sight? Maybe.

"I-I'm really sorry, Topaz, right? Um… It was my fault, really, the guys had nothing to do with it," he scratched his head sheepishly.

Topaz just stared. "No, no, I was just in the way…"

Amber coughed 'inconspicuously'. Topaz glared at her. "I'll just be go-going now…" James said quietly (first time since he showed up in the story) and walked back to the water.

James looked back just as he saw Topaz jump on Amber, shrieking, and he smiled to himself.

**

OKAY! So I have good news! Well, I don't know if its good news to others, but hey. I am going to start replying to your reviews, because I was just thinking that if I like getting replies from some authors, others should too.

And it seems OC's are falling in lurrrrrv… muhahaha. I should take the time to credit these OC's and their owners (who get cookies from me!)

**Skylar 'Skye' Storne – Serpent's Ballet**

**James Evens – WolfSummoner93**

**Amber and Topaz Elm – thebeats**

**Mason Rider – Your Romeo**

**Julia Evergreen (don't worry if she just suddenly disappeared from the story. She'll be back) – Distant-Moon**

These are the OC's yet to be featured.

**Danielle 'Dani' Ayla – xEmilia**

**Lina Markson – MrMsMrs Random**

COMMENTS ABOUT THE STORY NOW:

A lot of people said the Skye was… okay to put all of your comments in one whole word, it's 'mad-scientist'. And most of you were happy that 'pretty boy' was knocked out into next week. Who said maniacal?

OC's fall in love… that's something that might actually conflict in the future chapters. Steven's being harsh and protective at the same time, and we still haven't seen any action between him and Phoebe for some time.

WHO THOUGHT SAM AND GARY WERE GONNA KISS? Admit it, you'd all want that to happen, but it's waaaaay too early for that.

Patience is a virtue, friends.

Now just be patient for next week. 

Jaa~


	12. Purple's Knight In Shining Armor

"No!" Sam protested, at the same time, trying to cover her mouth. "But- Mom- No- You can't!" It was day four of the five day ban on Dewford's gym, and so far, there was no sign of Teams Magma and Aqua.

Gary entered the room, and leaned on the wall next to the video phone in the Pokemon Center, then chuckled as Sam's mother gave her an exasperated look that made him see exactly where Sam got her looks from. "I can, and I will, Samantha Daniela," her mother said. "Or so help me, I will go to Dewford myself and –"

Sam gave a little shriek of terror. "MOM! Fine, I'm… I'll go. Bye."

Daniela Garrett smiled, and blew a kiss at her daughter. "See you, honey. Bye."

The screen went black, and Sam glared furiously at the screen. "Tell me _why_ are you so mad at that screen?" Gary asked.

Sam ignored him and mumbled something underneath her breath. She smiled a bit and looked at her reflection on the black screen, pulling at her lips. "What are you doing?" Gary asked the question. "Wait, wait, what are you checking for?"

"Braces," Sam said, looking at the screen in horror, finding out that, her mom was right – her teeth were crooked beyond comparison. "Mother dear wants me to get braces. UGH." She slumped down. "She knows a dentist lady here. She already told her to expect me."

Gary raised his eyebrows. _Braces, huh? She'd look cute in braces. _"And there's something wrong with that because…?"

Sam looked at Gary unbelievingly. "I DON'T FREAKING _WANT_ BRACES!!!!"

Gary winced. "Okay, sorry, but I mean… you'd look kinda cute, really."

Sam blushed, then turned back to the screen. "I don't _wanna _go."

**

In the waiting room of Dentist Gwendolyn Verity******'s clinic, Mason, Gary, Amber, James and Topaz were quietly reading _Trainer's Digest_ back issues on the couches.

"AHHH!"

Without looking up, the five trainers simultaneously turned a page. _Looks like the braces aren't comfortable. _They thought at the same time.

Ten minutes later, Sam stepped out of the office, wincing, and rubbing her cheeks. "They hurt."

Gwendolyn laughed. "Get used to it, honey."

Sam slumped down in the only available chair left – which was the love seat (a.k.a two seated chair or whatever you guys call it) and was already occupied by Gary. Everyone (except Gary) remembered about what happened thirty minutes prior and laughed quietly.

_Flashback._

"_Take care and don't bite the dentist!" James teased. Sam rolled her eyes at him and disappeared behind the door. "Love seat! AWESOME!" James grinned wolfishly and dove on the couch. (they were the only people in at the time)_

"_AH!" Gary yelled out and pushed James off the seat. "I'm sitting there!"_

"_Not in this lifetime, Oak! Topaz! C'mere!"_

"_MINE!"_

_End of Flashback._

"Uh… James? Why do you have a bruise on your forehead? And why does Gary have an ice pack on his head?" Sam asked, cocking her head at them.

"Long story," Gary and James said, rolling their eyes. Sam shrugged.

"Welllllll?" Amber leaned closer to Sam. "Smile for me!"

Sam grimaced (probably her idea of a smile) and everyone looked closer at the purple-ness of her new braces. "Ohhh, they match your eyes!" Amber grinned.

"Well, _duh_, they match her eyes…" Topaz rolled her eyes. "They don't look awful, Sam, believe me."

"They're not as awful as I expected them to be," Mason said quietly, smiling kindly at her.

"Oh, that's a _real_ compliment, Mason…" Sam rolled her eyes. "Honestly."

"Sam, the braces may look weird, but they look _perfect _on you," Gary pointed out smiling genuinely at her. Sam blushed.

"Isn't that adoooorable…" Amber whispered to her sister. "I swear, those two are just… perfect for each other."

"Okay, who's next?" Gwendolyn asked, smiling at them.

"What do you mean, 'who's next'?" James asked.

"Why, your friend here convinced me that you were all _bursting _with cavities and tartar and other dentist terms that you possibly couldn't understand, and I just knew that I just _have _to fix up those problems!" she grinned at them hugely.

"Five bucks she swallowed a liter of laughing gas when she was six," James whispered to Gary. Gary nodded.

**

Sam smirked as the last in line, James, emerged from the dentist's office looking in severe pain. Gwendolyn reappeared, wiping her hands on her apron – with smiley faces all over it. "If I hadn't drilled a hole in that molar, you could've had a serious route canal!"

"Don't you need parents' consent for these kinds of things?" James moaned. Topaz looked at him sympathetically and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Gwendolyn laughed. "Of course!"

"Then why didn't you-"

"No more questions! Grab a lollipop on your way out and ENJOY IT!" she screeched and half-dragged, half-pushed all six of them outside the door.

They blinked as the door slammed behind them. "O-kay… Sam, this is the last time that I'm ever going to let your mom pick the dentist," James said, eyes wide.

Sam nodded. "God, that woman was scary."

**

"So… are you saying that there's actually a reason why we're not doing anything for five days?" Skye asked his uncle as they walked through the main lair, checking on everything.

"What did you think?" Maxie asked Skye.

"Well, I was kinda thinking that you were ashamed of what happened and…" Skye looked up and saw his uncle's glare. "And I probably should stop talking now."

"There is a reason." Maxie paused and checked the label on a crate. "Paximium," he mumbled.

"Uncle?"

"I didn't know we had Paximium here…" Maxie looked around, and saw a lone Magma recruit carrying some boxes fifty yards away. "You, over there. Come here please."

The Magma recruit lumbered over. He was humongous and towered over Skye. In short, it was like David and Goliath. "Yeah, boss?"

"Paximium," Maxie stated, raising an eyebrow. "When did we get this?"

"Paximium…" he thought for a while. "Archie sir ordered this stuff like two weeks ago, boss. He actually kind of told me not to tell you."

**

"Leaving Pokemon to do whatever they do for the entire day is not a good idea, I can tell you that from experience…" Mason warned the other trainers, who were watching Sam tell instructions to her Pokemon on what they weren't supposed to do.

"I, for one, trust my Pokemon with all my heart and soul," Sam announced, looking at her Treecko, Poochyena, and Taillow. "Right?"

They looked at her innocently.

Amber smiled. "Alright, so those guys have babysitters, Vaporeon, Arcanine, Ninetales, and Bellossom!"

Topaz let a smile flit briefly on her face. "Typhlosion, Raichu, Flareon, and Misdreavus, watch over them, okay?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "Umbreon, Mudkip, you guys can go, too."

James shrugged. "Manetric, Maril, Slugma, you guys wanna join the party?"

James, Topaz, Amber, Sam, and Gary looked at Mason pointedly, kinda like a 'you-better-get-your-Pokemon-out-here-or-we're-so-gonna-get-them-for-you' look. Mason sighed. "Feraligatr, Blastoise, Metagross, Fearrow, Absol, and Rapidash, you guys are old and mature and responsible enough to watch yourselves and the younger Pokemon."

In flashes of red light, a whole zoo of Pokemon appeared. Everyone goggled at Mason's impressive collection **(Yeah, cuz Mason is awesome that way). **Gary even stared, open-mouthed.

So, all – in – all, there was a Treecko, Taillow, Poochyena, Vaporeon, Arcanine, Ninetales, Bellossom, Typhlosion, Raichu, Flareon, Misdreavus, Umbreon, Mudkip, Manetric, Maril, Slugma, Feraligatr, Blastoise, Metagross, Fearrow, Absol and Rapidash. Well… that's a whole lot. Bound to attract attention.

"Awww, they look so cute…" Sam cooed.

"Okay, remember. You're not allowed in the city since you don't know what the heck is running wild there, you can stay on the beach, don't let Slugma, Rapidash, Typhlosion, Flareon, and Ninetales near the water, and – "

Amber groaned. "MASON! Stop being such a worry-wart. They're Pokemon, they can't possibly do anything wrong!"

**

Five minutes later, the Pokemon were staring at each other, curiously cocking their heads at each other, and in Metagross' case (since he can't exactly 'cock' his head, if you see my point) squinting its' eyes, and coughing uncomfortably.

**SINCE THERE ARE NO TRAINERS, I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO NOT TYPE POKEMON LANGUAGE. :D**

"_So… this is awkward for a first meeting,_" Vaporeon purred, and perched herself on a nearby rock.

"_Tell me about it,_" Flareon replied to his sister (Vaporeon is Amber's, Flareon is Topaz's, they were born together as Eevee, you get the point). "_I mean, aren't we supposed to be party Pokemon?_"

Misdreavus rolled her eyes. "_Flareon, I've been traveling with you for like… forever… and there is no way you could even try to be a party Pokemon._"

Taillow chuckled.

"_So… I guess walking around the city wreaking havoc is not on the list?_" Feraligatr smirked, though it was hard to tell.

"_You heard Mason,_" Metagross grumbled. "_You should clean your ears out more, hm?_"

Fearrow snapped her beak at Feraligatr. "_Idiot,_" she said. "_We all know that Mason trusts you more than anyone._"

Feraligatr smirked. "_Stop trying to be a mother, Fer._"

Umbreon yawned, and stretched herself next to Flareon. "_Hey, buddy._"

Flareon's eyes widened. "_Hell-o, beautiful!_"

Vaporeon rolled her eyes.

Treecko coughed politely. They all turned their eyes to him. "_Excuse me, but Poochyena here has to _go_._"

"_Go where?_" Typhlosion asked stupidly.

"_Go answer the call of nature, unload, take a dump, whatever you call it, stupid…_" Misdreavus said nastily.

"_Oh._"

**

"Are you serious?!" Amber said quietly, to silent to hope.

"She's serious," Topaz said eyes wide, and glasses sliding down her nose.

The three girls stared in silence at the platinum-colored card Phoebe was holding out to them in silent reverence. Phoebe sighed impatiently. "Come on, it's my old credit card. What could you – "

"Are you _insane_?!" Sam squealed. "You… you're giving us a _credit card_. The age doesn't matter. You told us you had like… a really big number on it and I don't wanna say it again cuz I might think that this is a dream and force myself into depression."

The boys rolled their eyes. "What is it with girls and credit cards?" James asked the boys in particular.

Topaz heard and shot back. "What is it with boys and cars?"

Gary sighed. "Cars are actually going to be useful in the future."

"And credit cards won't?" Sam sneered. "How could us girls buy you guys your _precious_ cars without our credit cards?"

"Point taken!" Steven chirped. Gary sighed, exasperated.

"What's going on heeeeeere?" A voice sang out to them. They looked up to see a relatively large and obviously well-taken-care for Altaria. Gary, on instinct, stood in front of Sam.

"Oh, come _on_, Gary…" Sam smiled sweetly at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't be too protective."

The Altaria descended to the ground, with Wallace's arms wrapped around another woman's waist.

This one was beautiful, even Sam could admit that. She had the graceful kind of aura around her, and she had that look in her eyes that just made everything… lively. Sam raised her eyebrows at Wallace, who was smiling gently at this new girl. "Ah, it's good to see you again; Gary, Sam…" he greeted them. "This is my… this is Winona."

Winona looked at Sam and Gary and smiled. "Heya!"

Steven chuckled and walked over to Sam. "They're going steady. It doesn't really look like it, well it does, but – well, you get the idea," he smiled.

"You know what, Steven?" Wallace asked, rolling his eyes. "I'm standing right next to you and I can actually hear you, believe it or not."

"Wallace, just let him be. After all, isn't he going steady with Phoebe now?" Winona asked.

The Champion and the Ghost master turned crimson.

Gary spoke up. "Well… they haven't actually _discussed_ anything like that… you know."

Sam nodded. "It's been like _forever_ and they haven't had the 'so… are we going steady?' talk yet."

"Shut up or I'm withdrawing the credit card, Sam…" Phoebe whispered menacingly, still blushing. Sam just smirked.

"Oh… we might as well just leave them alone, if you know what I mean?" Winona winked. "Girls, if Phoebe really _did_ leave you her credit card, I'd be happy to accompany you!"

The girls had immediately taken a liking to Winona the minute she stepped down from the Altaria, and nodded eagerly. The boys, however, looked warily at Wallace. He caught their looks, and sighing, he said, "There's a car show somewhere near here."

"YOU RULE!" James crowed, pumping a fist in the air.

**

"-and you never thought of _telling_ me?!" Maxie yelled in Archie's face. Archie sighed, exasperated, and drummed his fingers on the table top.

"Paximium is a very low-level chemical; You'd probably want nothing to do with this worthless chemical."

"Oh, you're wrong, Archie. I want _everything possible _with it. Research on this chemical proves that it is a mind control stimulant. Do you _realize _that this is tying in with our little miss purple?"

**

Phoebe nervously bit on her thumb nail, and stared at Steven, who was staring at Phoebe, who was staring at… you know, you guys are probably bored with that already, so let's move on.

"This is pretty awkward, huh, Steven?" Phoebe managed a weak chuckle.

"Well… yeah. But I mean… Phoebe, I just want to talk to you about something." Steven gently reached for her elbow and pulled her along with him. "Do you… like me?"

Phoebe snorted. "Uh, no."

Steven blinked. He was taken aback by that, but for some reason, he didn't feel hurt. Well, okay. He did… a little. "Huh? But you –"

Phoebe smiled to herself; honestly, Steven could be so _dense_. "You idiot…" she laughed.

He stopped walking to stand in front of her, his eyebrows creasing. "Phoebe. You kissed me back in the Magma lair… what… was… that?" he said, biting his lip.

She could only sigh, exasperated. "Honestly, Steven…" she smiled at him; the smile Steven loved. "Don't you freaking _get _it? God, I don't _like_ you, Steven Stone…"

He gave an irritated little grunt, and Phoebe giggled. "Let me finish, Steven… but I want you to say it first."

"Say what first?"

"I think you know what you need to say…" Phoebe winked, rocking back and forth on her heels. "But answer me… why did you kiss me back then?"

Steven was silent. "Do you know how much pain I was in?"

"Huh?"

"When you were gone… it was as if… I don't know… the other half of me had gone. You were always there for me," he stated, not looking Phoebe in the eye. "And not knowing where you were… or if you were alright… killed me."

"So basically…" Phoebe said, rolling her eyes to hide the emotion inside. "Basically, you were hurting because…?"

"Because I didn't know where the woman I love was." Steven said. "It's not lov_ed_, it's love. Because I still love you now."

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. A smile spread across her face. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."

"What?"

"Ste-vennn… sometimes you're just so… ignorant," Phoebe stated. "_You_ are the most important person in my whole life, you… you…" she laughed. "I said I didn't _like_ you, but Steven… I _love_ you."

It was then that Steven fainted and fell to the floor.

Phoebe groaned. "Oh, _Steven…_"

**

"Shoes, shoes, _glorious _shoes, with heels, some flat and others nerdy beyond comparisonnnnn!!!" Amber sang as they walked through Shopping Boulevard.

"Someone's having fun…" Sam grinned as Amber ducked into a shoe store. Topaz smiled.

"Yeah, I guess she is." Topaz replied. "Shopping has been her way of forgetting her boyfriend troubles."

Winona smiled at the three younger ones. _I was their age when I first met Wallace… right? _

*FLASHBACK*

"_No! Urgh, Swablu, I told you not to play with it up there!" a younger Winona, about fifteen, groaned as her Swablu (and soon-to-be Altaria) looked at her, a guilty look on his face. Winona gave Swablu a stern look. "See, now it's up too high, even you can't get it from there! You're still too… weak to fly up there."_

_Swablu and Winona looked up at the biggest house in the crater of Sootopolis (her parents brought her along on a vacation) and saw a lone ball she used to play catch with Swablu stuck firmly between two chimney stacks. Who had _two _chimney stacks, anyway?_

"_If you were a person, Swablu, I'd…" she left the rest of the threat to Swablu's imagination and returned Swablu into his Pokeball._

_Winona grumbled as she walked to the place where they were staying during their stay in Sootopolis, and saw her parents talk to another married couple with a young boy about her age near the side. She cocked her head to the right, interested, and went closer._

"_Ah, there's our Winona!" her mother smiled down at Winona. Winona raised her eyebrows. Her mother never greeted her like this. They must be important people._

"_You're miss Winona, huh?" the other woman, who had light brown hair and aqua-blue eyes, smiled gently at Winona. "My name's Gabrielle, my husband Francis, and my only son, Wallace."_

_Winona's attention was caught by Wallace. She looked at him from head – to – toe, studying him. "Hello." _

_Wallace smiled (the smile that would grow to be so famous 9 years in the future) at Winona. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Winona. I'm Wallace."_

*END OF FLASHBACK*

_And then they left home, and I found out that my ball was stuck in between _Wallace's _chimney stacks, and he returned the next day with his PokeNav number written in black permanent marker across the ball. _Winona smiled to herself at the memory.

Her smile was broken, though, when three simultaneous screams broke the silence. "What's-"

Sam was jumping up and down. "Theyhaveit-theyhaveit-theyhaveit-"

Topaz was drooling on the floor, while Amber's eyes were sparkling. "What is…" Winona asked again, but then she saw what they were goggling at.

**

_**Gotta get that, gotta get that, gotta get that…**_

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! THAT BOOM BOOM BOOM!" James sang along, off-key, to the music pouring out of the speakers at the car show Wallace was accompanying them to.

"Are car shows _usually _this loud?" Wallace yelled at Gary, to be heard over the speakers.

"Are you kidding, Wallace? OF COURSE THEY ARE!" Gary yelled back. Wallace sighed and covered his ears. _This is obviously something Winona would enjoy. _

The three tolled their eyes at Wallace's reaction. "YOU WUSS!"

"I'm not used to these things," Wallace complained. "Don't you guys like going to… Pokemon contests or something?"

"Well, there aren't any Pokemon contests around…" Mason said sarcastically. "And besides. When there's a car show, you go. It's a guy thing."

"Yeah, and that's saying something, seeing as _you're a guy_…" James rolled his eyes.

**

When everyone met up later, (Pokemon included, and considerably very happy with each other) the girls were quiet beyond comparison, and the boys were still going on about the amazing new model of a car they saw.

"And those wheels–"

"Forget the wheels, the fender was-"

"Screw the fender, the roof could open!"

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!" Sam screeched at Gary, who had been the one to comment about the roof.

"_What_ is making you girls so _edgy_ all of the sudden?" James asked.

The boys' eyes widened as Amber started dabbing at her eyes. "Why are you crying? We didn't do anything!" Mason asked.

"Idiot! It's just this book we bought… (sniff)" Amber said, now crying waterfalls.

"Oh, come on!" Everyone looked at Topaz, whose eyes were sparkling with tears too. "Why did Chris have to die?! WHY?!"

"I know!" Sam was holding her own copy, trying to hold in the tears. "Ariana _needs _him!"

Wallace looked in surprise at Winona as she sniffed audibly. "Ariana needs him, but Eric doesn't seem to care anymore!"

Gary, who was close to Sam, took a look at the cover. "_What Lies Can Do 3: The Misery._" Gary crinkled up his nose. "Oh, I get it, it's just one of those chick books."

Sam hit him promptly on the head with her book. "It is not _just_ one of 'those chick books', Gary," she said nastily, watching as Gary rubbed his head. "It's a story of how true love never dies, how someone is always there for you-"

Topaz started sobbing. "WHY?!"

**

After much eye rolls by the boys, and much crying from the girls that their eyes were red and puffy, they decided to sleep on the beach for the night. Sam and Gary, sharing a blanket on the ground (having no other choice, anyway) faced opposite directions, while everyone else spread out on the beach. Wallace and Winona had to go for the while, and for some reason, Phoebe and Steven haven't been seen, so it was just the teens.

"'Night, guys," Amber called out, voice a bit hoarse from crying. "I'm sleeping."

"Me too," Topaz, James, and Mason called out in unison.

Sam was silent, placing her hand on the cool sand and sifting it through her fingers. There was a lot to think about.

Gary, however, had his hands under his head, and looking up at the starry sky. He sighed; how were things between him and Sam going to work out? He knew she wasn't stupid. That was too close for a kiss, and he knew that she knew it too, that she had leaned forward.

"Gary, I-"

"Sam, I-"

They turned around to look at each other after speaking in unison. Sam giggled. "You first."

"I'm… sorry about… what happened… you know… the… well, you know already…" he said quietly. "I just…"

Sam blushed, although it couldn't be noticed by Gary. "It's okay, really…"

"I don't want to confuse you, Sam… I just…" _I just love you… and I don't exactly know how to express it the way I want to… _He finished in his head, knowing he'd never have the courage to tell her that. "It was an instinct, you know?"

"Instinct." Sam giggled at what he said.

"Well, it was!" Gary replied defensively.

Sam was silent, and Gary saw by the light of the moon shining on her face, that she was smiling slightly.

Gary shifted his position again, to stare up at the stars. "That's Gemini," he heard Sam whisper to him. He looked at her, and she was pointing at certain stars in the sky. "There's Taurus and Orion…"

He smiled and reached out to put an arm around her shoulders, gently lifting her head slightly so that his arm could act as a pillow. "Sam?"

"Hm?" she replied, eyes on the stars.

"You're the most important person to me…" he said quietly, and Sam turned her head to look him in the eye. "You give me life, you showed me that… well, Pokemon can't open cans on their own **(happened in chapter 2)**," Sam laughed a little at that. "You… brought out the best in me. Please… please… don't let yourself get into situations like that again, Sam… I don't know what I'd do…"

Sam's expression softened. Gary was acting out of character, but she knew that it was the side that he'd shown her before, the more sensitive Gary in front of her now. "I promise." She had a slight smile on her face as she leaned forward and kissed Gary on the cheek.

"Good night, my knight in shining armor…"

**

YOU GUYS WANTED A KISS, I GAVE YOU ONE! LOL! Not what you expected though… and the braces were kinda random, but hey. I wanted to show you guys that these guys are really just regular people. Sure, they might have Pokemon, and live in a fictional land, but they're just normal.

Another point: I told some of you last Saturday that the next chapter – this chapter – would be on Sunday. Something happened, something like a BLACKOUT (damn) and then… well… yeah, that's what happened.

So, you guys know the drill, read, review, enjoy, and be patient. :D

Ja~


	13. As Purple Secrets Are Revealed

"Ugh…"

_Skye was there, standing at the exit of the tunnel with a smug grin on his face, wearing a uniform with combined designs of Magma and Aqua. Gary froze at the sight of Sam by Skye's side, with Skye's arm wrapped firmly around her waist._

"No…"

_Her eyes weren't constricted with fear, as Gary had expected them to be. Instead, they were blank, staring emptily back at Gary._

"Sam…?!"

_The smirk on Skye's face grew wider, and drew Sam even closer to him, so that they were face to face. Gary couldn't say a word as Skye went closer to Sam's face and kissed her on the lips, as Sam's eyes were just empty and blank…_

"AHHH!" Gary jolted forward from his sleep, followed by a sharp pain on his forehead. He opened his eyes to find Sam kneeling in front of him, legs on either side of his waist, and rubbing her forehead, wincing.

"Is everything… okay, Gary?" Sam asked, worry crossing over her pained features.

Gary groaned a bit as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. He couldn't see any of the other trainers anywhere, and he supposed they were out and jumping already. "Just a dream, Sam… nothing to worry about."

"You kept saying my name," Sam stated flatly. "What were you dreaming about?"

Wincing, Gary told her the dream, deliberately leaving out the 'kissing with Skye' part. "It was just-"

Sam held out a hand to silence him. "Which means you don't have to worry about it, okay? I'm here."

As cliché as it was, Gary was slightly comforted by that. It was true, anyway.

**

"Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam…" Amber, who was with Topaz, met up with Sam and Gary a few minutes after Gary's 'dream'. James and Mason caught up shortly after.

"Yeah?"

"We saw Steven in the hospital-"

"Oh gosh, it makes you wonder what he was doing with Phoebe…" Sam sighed.

"No, it was nothing like that." Topaz smirked. "It was more like Phoebe told him how much she loved him and he fainted."

Gary laughed. "That's it? I was thinking it was something serious."

"Well, it's kinda serious now, since Steven isn't waking up," Amber stated, worried.

"He'll wake up. He's the Champion, and he's got an awesome girl who's gonna be the first person he sees when he wakes up," Sam smiled. "Anyway, today's the last day of the five-day ban. Thank god. I think I'm gonna get some training in."

Gary stretched his arms out. "I guess I will too…" He looked at Sam, who was giving him a surprised look. "What? You're not the only one battling Brawley tomorrow, you know… and if it's a double battle again, I have to save you. Admit it, it isn't easy trying to save you…" he winked. Sam blushed.

"If I'm not mistaken, you _voluntarily_ leapt in front of a charging Mightyena even when I told you not to!"

The surprised looks on the others' face made Gary turn crimson. "Aw, Sam…"

"He _did_, did he?" Amber said, squealing, a devilish look on her face. "Isn't that adorable."

James smirked. "Oh, why don't you two just get hooked up already?"

That comment made Sam choke, and Gary stare blankly. "NO WAY!"

Everyone laughed.

**

Sam looked up from her PokeNav to look at Gary, who was patting Umbreon on the head. "Looks like Brawley's Machop and Hariyama are at a really high level; higher than Roxanne's Geodude. Man, we're gonna _die _if we don't take this seriously."

Gary waved his hand to the side to give an 'I-don't-care' look. "Hey, we beat Roxanne against all the stupid odds; couldn't you at least have a little more faith?"

Sam smiled at him; she liked the way he said 'we' because it made him seem less arrogant… and sweet. "Of course I have faith, it's just that I'm not used to the whole battling thing yet."

"Why don't you battle me, then?"

The words were hardly out of Gary's mouth when he realized what a stupid idea it would be. _I'd get over-excited, I'd end up hurting Sam verbally, she'd run away without her Pokemon, she'd get captured by someone, and then we'll have to go through the whole thing again. _"Never mind, Sam, it was a stupid idea!"

"No, no, what you just said was a stupid idea, not the first one!" Sam's eyes lighted up and she smiled; the sun glinted a bit off of her braces.

Gary slapped his palm against his forehead. "Please, Sam… it would be better for you and me if we both didn't go through this battle."

Sam looked at him, a half-grimace on her face. "Oh, come on. You can't be _that _bad."

Gary stared at Sam with an unreadable expression on his face. "I make people _cry_ during battles. I mentally, verbally, and rarely physically hurt people during battles. You've never seen me really serious on the battle field, hm?"

Sam was quiet. _There was that time in Petalburg woods with the Magma goon… but he wasn't exactly battling, he was… jumping in front of Mightyena… _She blushed at the memory. _Then Roxanne's Gym battle. He wasn't… that serious… but he was… oh, guess he's right. _"No," Sam said, sighing defeat.

A smirk crossed his face. "See?"

Sam crossed her arms. "Let's just see you _try_ and make me cry!"

Gary shook his head slowly. "You are a very determined person."

"And you just realized it now?" Sam retorted.

He sighed. "Fine."

"Because if you don't want to battle then me then I'll just look for – wait, you said 'fine''?" Sam stared at him.

He nodded once, looking as if he regretted it all. "I'll just say sorry in advance… I mean, you never know…"

Sam scoffed. "Come on out, Taillow!"

**

Gary was twitching… once, twice, thrice… as he stared at his soon-to-be knocked out Umbreon on the ground. _She didn't. _"Um… Umbreon?"

"B-Buureon…" _You… idiot… _Umbreon growled and fainted.

"Tai! Tai, taillow tai!" _You just got PWNED by the birdie!!! Woot, woot! _Taillow flew around in circles and landed on Sam's head, playfully messing up her hair by flapping at it with his wings.

Sam laughed. "You're a really good fighter, Taillow!"

"TAILLOW!" _Of course I am! _Taillow cawed in victory as Gary gave the little bird 'the evil eye'.

"I saw that, Gary… man, you're a sore loser…" Sam laughed. Gary sighed and picked up Umbreon.

"Let's go back to the center. I have to get this little guy to rest by tomorrow." Gary smirked.

They were quiet for a while, and Sam hummed 'Thinking of You' under her breath. "How long has it been… almost a month?" Gary asked.

"Almost a month since what, actually?"

"Since I met you in Professor Birch's lab," he stated, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "What was the first insult I told you?"

"You said my eyes were weird," Sam laughed.

"And after I called your eyes weird, you called my shirt 'gay', right?" he teased.

Sam snorted. "Well, it _was_."

**

Sam and Gary met up with Topaz, Amber, James, and Mason after they dropped off Umbreon.

"So… how was your date?" James asked airily.

"It wasn't a-"

"Okay, fine, how was _training_?" James smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Sam destroyed me," Gary said dryly. "She's torture. Honest to goodness torture."

Amber hi-fived Sam. "You go, girl!" Topaz smiled for half a second and let it slide.

"Hey, I have an idea…" Mason said quietly. "Let's visit Steven. I think he woke up."

"He did?" Sam rolled his eyes. "It makes you wonder what Phoebe told him…"

"Probably confessed her undying love for him… or something like that." Gary shrugged.

**

Skye sighed as he held up two test tubes – one half-full with liquidized Paximium, the other half-filled with Coke; he knew it was Sam's favorite drink since he asked her when she was still clueless about him.

He was wearing rubber gloves and a face mask and goggles. _Right. Uncle said that if I'm too hasty in this, it might… well, he said something like, 'or the apocalypse will come sooner' but I think he meant it will blow up. So I better be careful. _Skye took in a deep breath and carefully dropped one drop of Paximium into the Coke. It made a really loud fizzing noise, but nothing else happened. Skye put both test tubes on the test tub holder, got a pen, and wrote down on the notebook.

_**One drop Paximium doesn't affect color of Coke. **_

Skye picked up the two test tubes again and held them at eye level. "Now for drop number two…" he muttered to himself.

He looked at the color the Paximium was turning. He knew that Paximium changed colors every once in a while. It was turning a purplish shade; for some reason… it reminded him of Sam.

_I can't believe I trusted you! _Her voice yelled in his head.

He winced.

_**BLAM!**_

Skye rubbed his head and looked at the black, charred mess on the table, complete with a little dancing flame. _That is the _last _time I wince while thinking about Sam holding a combustible chemical…_ He groaned. When he winced, the hand holding the Paximium slipped and emptied the entire test tube into the Coke test tube.

"Better start cleaning this up…"

"I heard an explosion!" Maxie ran down to Skye's table. "I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL!"

"I _was_ being careful, Uncle…" Skye mumbled.

Maxie straightened up. "Skye, do you know why we're doing this?"

He had to answer truthfully. "…No…"

"We have to know how much Paximium we should slip in Samantha's Coke."

Skye nodded, and went to go get another test tube. _Why do I feel so guilty about doing this? _

**

The six trainers immediately regretted going up to Room 692. Well, they were waiting outside the door, but still.

"ONLY _IDIOTS_ FAINT AFTER HEARING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, STEVEN!!! DO YOU _KNOW_ HOW I FEEL NOW?!" Phoebe yelled, her voice clear to anyone within a one-mile radius.

"I was… shocked… you can't blame ME!" Steven yelled back.

All six rolled their eyes simultaneously. "What a loving couple," Topaz said sarcastically.

"I'm _sooo _jealous," James added.

"Excuse me, coming through, Uncle in the hospital here!" they turned their heads to see a girl about their age, with long, curly brown hair and deep blue eyes running in the hospital corridors. She wore long black boots with jeans and a red tank top. They watched as she burst into Room 692, her voice rivaling Phoebe's. "UNCLE STEVEN! Dad, Sidney, and Auntie Glacia are worried SICK about you!"

"Lina? What are you doing here?" Steven asked weakly. The other six took that as a cue to enter.

"Hey… Steven?" Mason asked. "You okay?"

"Just peachy." Steven rolled his eyes. The girl, Lina, looked at them. "This is my… okay, she's not my niece, but she calls me uncle anyway. She's Drake's daughter. My goddaughter. Something like that, anyway. She's Lina Markson."

Mason stepped forward. "I'm Mason Rider, this is…" he pointed at each person in turn. "Amber and Topaz Elm, Sam Garrett, Gary Oak and James Evens."

James winked at Lina. "Hi. Evens, James Evens."

Lina sneered. "I heard Mason the first time, you insufferable playboy."

Topaz, Amber and Sam laughed. "Serves you right, Evens…" Topaz said, under her breath.

"Shut up, T. Elm…" he muttered, fighting the blush. **(He recently started calling her T. Elm, due to an unfortunate incident when he insulted Topaz and called her 'Elm', but making Amber think he was talking about her too, so in the end, he got a double Elm beating)**

Lina laughed, and turned back to 'Uncle' Steven. (Man, that's just a really cute name for Steven. I LOVE IT.) "NEXT TIME YOU DECIDE TO FAINT, I'LL WAIT FOR YOU WAKE UP AND I'LL MAKE YOU FAINT AGAIN!"

Phoebe put an arm around Lina's shoulders. "That's my practical twin sister…" she cooed. "You're just like me!"

Steven made a strangled growling sound at the back of his throat. "You two…"

"Hey, STEEEEE-VENNNN?" Sam chirped. "Tomorrow, I can challenge the gym, right?"

"No," he said sourly. "I'm in an awful mood, and I think we should bar you from the Gym for another five days."

Sam twitched. "Steven… Stone…" Everyone (even Lina, even though she's only known Sam for about five minutes) noticed the signs of a 'Sam-plosion', and backed against the wall. Steven paled.

"It's for your own good-"

"My own _good_?" she repeated, in a low and deadly tone.

He squeaked, so un-Steven like. "We don't know if-"

"Then maybe you _should_."

"Well, I'm still not allowing you to enter that Gym." He said stubbornly. The voices in everyone's head, except Steven's and Sam's, expressed great pity for Steven.

But to everyone's surprise, Sam just smiled at him. She leaned down and whispered something into Steven's ear, something that took about three minutes to finish saying.

When she leaned back though, Steven's eyes were wide and dilated. "You can… you can challenge the Gym tomorrow… I don't mind."

** **(Just what **_**did**_** Sam say, anyway? Hmm… I'll leave it to your imagination)**

Skye grit his teeth and blinked. It was the twenty-third time that he had emptied the whole test tube of Paximium into the Coke, and he was getting used to the desk – charring explosions that followed his mistakes. Maxie wasn't even going down to scold him anymore. _Why… can't I do… my work… PROPERLY?! I used to be able to… before I met her. _Skye cursed under his breath and slumped down in his chair.

At least this time, he had made it to five drops without accidents.

**

Later that day, while it was getting dark, Sam had separated herself from the group to try and enjoy Dewford city without Mason critically judging everything they saw, Amber squealing at every store they passed by, Topaz grumbling about how tiring walking around Dewford was, James flirting with every other girl who passed by, and Gary watching over her as if she was his child or something.

She took in a deep breath. _It's peaceful… very peaceful, in fact… _She smiled.

"Heh… aren't you pretty enough to be walking in these streets alone?" a voice, one that sounded highly drunk and what-not, snickered behind her. Sam froze, but kept walking, but faster.

"Oh, look, she's running." Sam paled as she heard three different voices laugh behind her. _THREE MUGGERS? Ugh, how the heck am I gonna survive this?! And to make it worse, all my Pokemon are at the Pokemon Center! _Sam just ran faster.

A hand enclosed around her wrist. "Not so fast, miss…" someone whispered in her ear.

Sam closed her eyes. _I'MANIDIOTI'MANIDIOTI'MANIDIOTI'MSUCHAFREAKINGIDIOT_-

"Sam?" a familiar voice called, distant. Why did it sound so familiar? "CRAP! Sam, hold on!"

There were sounds of kicks and punches and stuff… okay, that sounded lame. But it sounded like a fight or something. Sam heard the thugs run off.

"Sam…? Are you okay?"

"Gary?"

"Nah, I'm not Gary…" Sam looked up into startling green eyes… which were, obviously, not Gary's.

"D-Drew?! What… why are you here?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. May, Harley and Julia are at the Pokemon Center now. Our trip to Mauville took a little detour," Drew's face filled with genuine concern. "I'm glad I ran into you, though. I don't want to imagine what would happen if I hadn't come here in time."

Sam smiled at him. "Thanks, Drew…"

"Hey! You got braces!" Drew's hands were immediately all over her face, pulling at her lips to get another look.

"Urw! Et uff!" **(Drew! Get off!) **Sam squealed as Drew laughed. They both felt a vibrating, and Sam pulled out her PokeNav. "Oh, boy… it's Gary."

"Answer it, then," Drew told her, rolling his eyes.

"He's gonna go hell on me, Drew!" Sam whined. "I mean, I just got captured by Team Magma – before you ask, long story – and now I'm just walking around Dewford alone and almost get mugged! He's gonna _kill _me since the stupid muggers didn't!"

"Well, we don't know what's gonna happen, so you might as well just answer it," Drew shrugged.

Sam timidly pressed the 'answer' button on her PokeNav. "Hello?"

"SAM, WHEN YOU GET BACK HERE I AM GONNA GO HELL ON YOU! JUST WAIT, I'LL TEACH YOU TO WALK OUT ON US-" Sam, who looked horrified, hung up the phone.

"Dang. Told you I was right, Drew," she muttered.

**

"Don't give me that _crap_, Sam! Stop making excuses!" Gary yelled at her in their room in the Pokemon Center.

"Ugh, does it make any sense for me to want to be free, Gary?"

"NO!" he shouted back. "You should _want_ to hide in a hole until we fix this problem, you should _want_ my protection, and you should _want _to lie low for a while!"

"I DON'T!" Gary looked as if he was taken aback. "Thanks for trying to protect me, but I'm fine! I don't want all that stuff! I don't care! I HATE what's in me! I HATE everything that has to do with my STUPID gift!" she turned away from Gary, so she could fall face down on the bed. "_It's ruining my life!_"

Gary sighed. He walked over so that he could sit on Sam's bed, and patted her on the back. "Sorry…" he sighed again. "I should… I should try to understand you. I should… be considerate and I… but I still want to make sure you're safe, Sam…"

Sam turned around on her back. "Gary…"

"I want to protect you because I l-"

_Thunk._

"What the…" Sam got up from the bed, leaving a very disgruntled Gary behind.

_Thunk_.

_Thunk._

_Thunk._

Sam found the cause of the sound to be pebbles (and yes, some big rocks) being thrown at their window. She opened it, only to receive a pebble in the forehead. "What the heck do you freaking want?!"

Her eyes widened in shock at the person standing below the window, with a hopeful expression on his face.

"_**SKYE?!**_"

**

"Where is he?!" Maxie stormed through his lair, yelling at anyone who was unfortunately close enough for conversation. "WHERE THE HECK IS MY NEPHEW?!"

"Maxie, what is the matter?" Archie stepped out from a room, looking annoyed, as Maxie had interrupted his nap.

"Skylar is GONE! I don't know where he is! He was here earlier this morning, checking on the Paximium, and now he's… GONE!"

"Have you ever thought that the boy is guilty because of what he's done to that girl?" Archie asked, leaning against the door frame.

Maxie froze, cold realization creeping into his head. "Uhm…"

"He's only thirteen-"

"Fifteen."

"Whatever. He's a teenager, and teenagers are like that sometimes. I would expect him to be wherever Sam is at the moment."

Maxie, still frozen as Archie went back inside the room, couldn't believe it, but he knew that Archie was right.

**

"No, we are _not _letting him in this room, Sam!" Gary protested.

"I say we give him a chance."

"NO!"

"Gary, stop acting like a foolish little child. You don't know… Mason told me he acted guilty when he reached the lair when he… captured… me. So… there's no harm in talking to him, right?"

"Sam-"

But there was no choice; she was already walking out the door.

**

By the time Gary had caught up to Sam, he wasn't surprised to see Sam yelling at Skye. "-insignificant, unworthy, time-wasting, heart-breaking little SNOT!" she screamed. "I EFFING TRUSTED YOU!"

Gary expected Skye to yell back, but he said quietly. "I deserved it."

"Oh, you so _did _deserve it, little-"

"But I want you to hear me out, first," Skye rose an eyebrow at her. There was no fuzzy, charming look in his eyes anymore. Instead, there was the cold, yet friendly gaze of an acquaintance. Sam nodded, then narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sorry for everything."

"That's it?!" Sam yelled, hands bunching into fists. "You make me fall for you, betray me by injecting this whacked-out _drug___into my blood system, drag me to a hideout, and you expect me to… FORGIVE YOU?"

"Yes," he said plainly. "I could be of help to you guys, I could tell you what's going on with Magma…"

A plan was slowly forming in Gary's mind, but he didn't tell Sam yet. Besides, he was enjoying this. Sam yelling at Skye. It made up for his failed attempt at expressing his feelings earlier.

"It doesn't assure me that you're not going to double-double-cross us again!" Sam said. "I… I don't even know if I should just throw you to Officer Jenny or something!"

"Do that, then! But I _deserve _it!" Sam was silent. She could see it in his eyes. He _meant _it. "I just want to say sorry to you, Sam… I'd never go a moment in the lair when I wasn't distracted by you. It's… guilt that's been bugging me. Please, just… forgive me."

"I can never forgive you," Sam said coldly. "But I can accept you as a friend." She held out her hand to him, and he smiled bitterly and shook hands with her.

**

To make a long story short, it was a long night. Sam tossed and turned in her bed, wondering if she did the right thing. Gary stayed stock-still in his bed, still awake, anger bubbling in his stomach at Skye's return. Before both of them knew it, the sun was high in the sky, and they had to battle Brawley.

"Today's the big day," Sam commented to him as they picked up their Pokemon from Nurse Joy.

"Yeah…" he said quietly. "About last night…"

Sam gently pressed her hand to Gary's arm. "Nothing about that today, Gary, please?" she said softly. "I'm not even sure I made the right decision about that."

Gary nodded, satisfied. "Let's go beat the crap out of Brawley!"

**

"Dude… you guys double-battled with Roxanne? Sorry, but I don't do that kind of thing here. Sorry," Brawley said after Gary had explained their fighting style.

"Oh, well, it's okay," Gary replied, a little annoyed. How were they going to do this _now_?

"But I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll battle both of you – separately. Got it, dudes? I just need to train the other two Pokemon I'll be using. It'll be a two-on-two battle, is that okay with you?"

"Definitely!" Sam chirped. "Thanks, Brawley!"

**

Skye reclined in his seat outside the Pokemon Center, soaking up the sun. _It's as if a great weight was lifted off my chest. I feel so much better… and less guilty now. Even if Gary doesn't trust me anymore, I don't care. Sam accepts me. That's all I care about, for now… _

"Sam's not here?" Skye turned his head to see a pretty girl with long hair speaking to Nurse Joy.

"I'm sorry, I think that she's with Gary! Either that or she's training with him," Nurse Joy replied apologetically.

"Oh, it's okay, really!" Amber Elm smiled brightly and turned her head where Skye was sitting. She blinked rapidly, and bit her lip.

Skye was shocked; what was Amber doing way out here?

"Skye?"

**

"Taillow, dive in, and then use Wing Attack!" Sam commanded Taillow as she battled Gary's Mudkip.

"Tai, TAILLOW!" _Let's see you dodge this, MUDDY!!! _

"Mudkip, close range Water Gun!" Gary told Mudkip.

"Tai?" _What the?_

**BWOOOOSH!**

Sam watched in horror as Taillow was hit full force by Mudkip's Water Gun. "Taillow?"

"Tai… Tai!" Taillow flew up a bit in the air, and shook off the water, looking a bit tired, but otherwise, okay.

"Great! Now, up higher into the sky and let's see a full-force Wing Attack!"

**

Amber slowly walked over to Skye, and smiled half-heartedly. "Skye," she said quietly. "What are you doing out here?"

Skye moved over to make room for Amber on the seat, and she sat down, a bit stiff. "Just… around. You know."

Amber smiled. "Oh… okay," she said, looking at her hands.

Skye sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I'd be leaving."

She nodded stiffly. "You should be sorry…"

"You know I am," he clarified. "I still love you, Amber… even if… even if we keep fighting."

Amber closed her eyes. "Stop doing this to me, Skye…" she whispered. "I don't want to make the same mistake again… I don't want to get hurt again…"

Skye turned her around so that they were face-to-face, and leaned in so close, that their noses were touching. "One more chance, Amber… please?"

And that's when he leaned in and kissed her.

**

Topaz smirked at Gary's defeat. She had been watching for a while, and she was impressed with Sam's ideal battling style. It was something to watch, that was for sure.

She thought of her sister. _Huh. I wonder where she is? _Thinking about her sister made her remember how much pain she was in. Her boyfriend had left her one day, no messages, no letters for a week. The story she told Sam was just the tip of the iceberg.

Topaz sighed. She felt sorry for her sister… and she was going to give her sister's boyfriend a piece of her mind… the one named…

Skylar Storne.

**

CHAPTER DONE!

So, it looks like Amber and Skye were connected from the very beginning! MMMMM I smell conflict between Amber and Sam! If you want to read again about Amber's lovelife, it's somewhere during the chapter 'It Was This Purpley Close'. Where Topaz falls for James.

I love giving OC's a life of their own.

Cookies to Amber and Skye's owners and creators, _**thebeats **_and _**Serpent's Ballet**_. You guys rule!

Drew made another cameo there… I know it was a small one, but I just LOVE Drew. :D

Sorry for the very-freaking-late chapter; I was in a swimming competition the past three days, then I had school, and couldn't write. I think I should stop typing excuses now… ugh. :D

Thanks for the people who reviewed!

Ja~


	14. Purple'd Out

"Skye Storne is… Skye Storne is…" Sam stared unbelievingly at Topaz. "Skye Storne is…"

The girls and the boys had separated that morning, seeing as if everything went as planned (meaning Sam and Gary both won their badges), they'd be separating the next morning. The girls were walking around, and the boys were just sitting near the beach, talking.

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Yes, Skye Storne is."

"REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID TO ME!" Sam screeched.

Sighing, Topaz complied. "Skylar Storne is Amber's boyfriend. There."

"But… but… but… but why didn't anyone TELL me?!" Sam replied, waving her hands in the air in exasperation, eyes wide.

"You didn't ask," Amber said shyly. "I swear, though, I would've told you if you asked. Why, is he a friend of yours?"

Sam blinked, trying to think of what to say. "Well… we've met." She said vaguely.

Amber twirled a strand of her brown locks **(A/N: thebeats corrected me; Amber and Topaz both have brown hair. I wrote 'blonde' in the chapter where they were introduced. Sorry for that mistake.) **around her index finger. "I wouldn't call him my boyfriend though… we _were_ together. It's just… I wanted to break up with him. But he left before I could."

"Left?" Sam asked. "He left you?"

Amber nodded. "About a month ago… he just stopped writing to me; stopped calling me; and stopped visiting me. So I gave up on him, and we met and he… well yeah," she averted her eyes uncomfortably.

Sam looked at Topaz, who was looking back at her. Silent, Topaz mouthed the words, 'I'll explain later.'.

**

"Mason, James, this is Skye Storne. Skye, Mason Rider and James," Gary said stiffly, introducing them to each other. The three nodded their heads in greeting. Because boys are like that. _Why do I have to introduce Skye to these guys? He's not even _worth_ their time! _Gary ranted furiously in his head.

"So…" James put his hands behind his head. "Wanna check out places?"

"You sound like a chick," Mason retorted nastily, grinning.

"Maybe because I _am _one," James snorted. "Yeah, right."

"That would be good…" Skye mused. They looked at him to check if he was crazy. Skye rolled his eyes, "Then, he could tell us what girls are really thinking. Sometimes, I don't get them. At all."

"Ditto."

"Ditto-ditto," James added to Gary's reply. The latter smirked.

"You just have to look at the deeper, and try to see them behind the make-up and sometimes very thick mascara to see the innocent, loving girl behind-" Mason stopped speaking when he saw the other three giving him odd looks.

"Nerd…" they muttered underneath their breaths.

"What?!" Mason said, defensive. "You wanted to know what girls are thinking! Okay, so I didn't exactly answer the question well, but it's still something to do with the topic!"

James turned his attention to Skye. "You got a girlfriend?"

Skye nodded, making Gary surprised. _If he has a girlfriend… then why was he flirting with Sam? Maybe it's Inferno. That girl who set a Mightyena on Sam; man, I'm never gonna forget that. _"Oh?" James said, interested. "How long?"

"A year and ten months," he replied quickly.

That got Gary's attention, too. _Man. _"I think you know her…" Skye continued thoughtfully. "Amber?"

Mason spit out the Dr. Pepper he was downing. "_YOU _AND AMBER?!"

Everyone gave Mason a very curious look. "Why are you acting like that?" Gary asked, smirking. Mason blushed, you know, in a guy-way…

"Nothing," he said quietly.

"YOU LIKE HER!!!!" James howled triumphantly; Skye looked amused; Gary was laughing. "Man, there is nothing more obvious than that! That was practically a CONFESSION!"

"So what if I like her?" Mason retorted, now very crimson.

"What d'you mean by that?" James asked incredulously. "I didn't even _think_ you'd like Amber!"

Mason laughed darkly. "Look who's talking, you fell for her _sister_!" Skye laughed openly, and glanced sideways at James.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not!" James yelled. "Shut up, Mason Rider!"

Skye stole a glance at Gary, who was quietly watching James and Mason verbally abuse each other. "I know what you're thinking," he said quietly, so that James and Mason wouldn't hear. "I never wanted to two time Amber, and I never wanted to use Sam. It was my job, Gary…"

Gary gave him a cold look. "If you really love someone, you do anything to keep the feeling mutual," he said, glaring daggers at him.

"I tried."

"I doubt it," Gary sneered. Skye glared at Gary for a full minute before retorting.

"At least I made an effort, unlike you…" he hissed.

Gary was about to say something, but James interrupted. "Hey! Why're you guys so angry all of the sudden?"

"It's nothing, Evens…" Gary replied airily. "Nothing you would understand, anyway."

Skye nodded.

**

Near tears, Sam called Gary's PokeNav for the umpteenth time. "Gary, please pick up! Brawley's been waiting! I can't go in there alone!" she begged.

'The number you dialed is currently unavailable. Please try your call-' **(A/N: I don't know about you guys, but I hate, hate, HATE that message on the phone. xD)**

Sam narrowed her eyes. _Fine. If he doesn't want to be with me, I don't care! I'll beat Brawley myself! AND WIN!_

Bracing herself, she entered the gym, where Brawley was waiting for her. "Well, you've been a while, little dudette…" he greeted her. "Where's your friend?"

Sam scowled. "I don't know, and believe me, it's better that way. I can't kill him if I don't know where he is," she stated.

Brawley laughed. "Wanna start? Remember, it's a two-on-two battle." Sam nodded.

"I'll show Gary I don't exactly need him all the time!" she grinned.

**

_I know I have to do something. It was something important… _Gary mused in his head. _What is it? Oh, I have to check on Sam…_ He reached into his pocket for his PokeNav, but found it wasn't there.

_Looks like I left it in the center…_

**

"Alright! Let's go, Treecko!" she called out Treecko from his ball.

"Tree, Treecko Tree!"

"Treecko, hm? Alright, should be easy enough for you, Machop!"

"Treecko, let's start with a Bullet Seed!"

"Brace yourself… and when he's done, charge in for Focus Punch!"

"MACH!"

**

Gary spotted Topaz and Amber deep in conversation on the beach, and so did the rest of the boys. James immediately started flattening his unruly hair, while Mason checked if he had bad breath, Skye walked over confidently towards Amber, and Gary was… confused.

_Weren't they supposed to be with Sam?_ He thought, confused, and approached them too. He heard Amber's voice shake a little as she whispered, "Hi, Skye…"

Skye smiled back at her tentatively, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"

"I'm fine…" she replied, leaning into Skye's side, sighing.

"Hey, uh, where's Sam?" Gary asked. Topaz looked at him, eyebrows shooting up.

"We should be asking you that!" Amber replied. "She said she was gonna meet you at the gym!"

_Gym… gym… gym. _The word echoed in his mind. _Crap, now I remember where I was supposed to be! THE GYM! _"I FORGOT!" he yelled. "Man, I have to run!"

Topaz shook her head. "Sometimes, I will _never_ understand boys."

**

"Machop and Treecko are both unable to battle! This ends in a draw! Both of you, choose your Pokemon now, please!"

Sam winced. "Thanks, Treecko… that's one down…" she smiled. _Gary, even though you're a really awesome guy, I still am gonna kill you when you get the guts to show your face. I mean it. _"Alright, Taillow!"

Brawley laughed. "If you think that flying type Pokemon still do serious damage on my Pokemon, you must be wrong. My Pokemon are special in that way."

Sam tossed her head. "My Pokemon are special, too!"

**

_Sam, please, please, PLEASE don't kill me… I know you can, but I mean, getting killed by someone you love isn't exactly on the top of my list. _Gary ran for his life as he started towards the Gym.

**

Amber twiddled her thumbs and smiled hesitantly at Skye. "Skye?"

"Yeah?" he replied quietly.

"If… if you really, really, really like me like you say you do, tell me why you left me," she asked, pleading him with her eyes.

Skye turned away. "I… I can't tell you anything."

Amber's eyes burned with hot tears as she turned her back on him. "Why won't you tell me anything anymore?! You used to… you used to act like you really cared! And now… it's just…"

"Have patience with me, Amber Daffodil," he whispered, though not looking at her. "I honestly would tell you if I could, but I can't."

"And _I,_ honestly, if I had the guts to, would break up with you right now! It's been on rocks for the past year, Skye, I have to move on now!"

Skye looked at Amber, a serious look on his face. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Amber glared back at him. "Then leave me alone."

**

"Taillow, Agility! Confuse Hariyama!" Sam commanded Taillow. Taillow flew in circles around Hariyama at an incredible speed.

"TAILLOW!" _Catch me if you can, fatty! _Taillow cawed.

Brawley grit his teeth. _Her Taillow is even more impressive than Ash Ketchum's. It's fast, and it knows what it's doing. _"Hariyama, try to strike it with Vital Throw!"

Sam gaped as Taillow got hit, but flew up again, looking slightly bruised. _I have to end it, I have to end it now, before anything gets really serious. _"Taillow, Double Team!"

"What?" Brawley looked around at the Taillows' circling his Hariyama, who was looking around, looking confused. "Hariyama, just try to hit all of them!"

"Taillow, maximum power, Wing Attack!"

**BOOM…**

**

The ground shuddered a bit under Gary as he reached the door to the Gym. _What was that? Oh, man, please don't let it be a bad sign for Sam…_ He opened the door to see Sam panting, but smiling, as Taillow gracefully floated out of the dust cloud that had formed when all of Taillow's shadows moved in at once, confusing Hariyama, and hitting it with all its power.

"Hariyama is unable to battle! Samantha Garrett is the winner!" Brawley was shocked; so was Sam; and so was Gary.

"That Wing Attack… is something worth battling against, Sam…" Brawley crossed the field to shake her hand and hand over the badge. "That was an awesome battle, dude…"

Gary reached Sam. "You… beat him? Without me?" he pouted. Sam gave him a death glare. "Don't look at me like that when you know that you did something wrong." She whisper-snarled.

"You wanna battle me next, Oak?" Brawley asked. "I still have two more Pokemon here with me," he said gesturing to two other Pokeballs on his belt.

"Sure," Gary replied, a confident grin on his face.

**

Everyone lounged in the Pokemon Center café, (meaning Gary, Sam, James, Topaz, Mason, Amber and Skye, even though the last two weren't sitting next to each other) Sam drinking Coke (and giving Skye ugly memories), Gary shining his badge (which he had won, hands down), James staring at Topaz (who was chatting with Amber), Mason staring at Amber (who was chatting with Topaz) and Skye uncomfortably twitching as his PokeNav kept ringing, and he knew it was Uncle Maxie, so he didn't answer.

"Last day together…" Topaz said sadly, looking at Sam in particular.

"Oh, but I've really gotten used to you guys!" Sam exclaimed. Topaz and Amber drew near and hugged her. "You guys are like my sisters!"

"Aw, Sam, you're like a sister to us, too," Amber cooed.

The boys nodded to each other, since they don't get emotional (at least, when everyone's looking at each other) and waved.

"We'll see each other, right?" Amber was telling Sam. "You have to accidentally bump into us sometime!"

"Where are you guys going, anyways?" Sam asked.

"Well," Topaz answered. "James and Mason were on the way to Sinnoh, so we're just gonna go with them. I'm dying to catch a whole bunch of rare Pokemon. Then, when we're done, we'll fly around, and look for you."

The canteen door slammed open, and Phoebe, Steven, and Lina stepped through, Phoebe's hand wrapped firmly around Steven's elbow, and Lina waving enthusiastically. "Uncle Steven got out of the hospital!" she said happily.

The look on their faces made Steven curious. "Okay, whose funeral?"

Everyone rolled their eyes. "It's our last day together, Steven… go figure." Topaz curled a strand of brown hair around her index finger.

Amber sighed sadly. "And just when I was getting to know everyone better!" she turned to Mason, and smiled radiantly at him. He smiled back, a bit hesitant. Skye rolled his eyes.

These actions were unnoticed by Sam, but she just smiled and kept quiet. "By the way, _Uncle_ Steven…" she said, with a sweet, sinister tone to her voice. "How are you and Phoebe?"

Both turned crimson, and Lina giggled. "Getting along _juuuuust _fine…" Lina replied, winking.

"I smell juicy details! Spill, Lina!" Amber begged.

"Lina, as your unofficial-uncle-yet-uncle-in-a-way, I command you not to-"

"Uncle was half-conscious and drugged by all the medicine and he confessed how much he felt for sister Phoebz and then he started being all gushy-gooey, and holding her hand and stuff and then Phoebe was like weirded out so she hit him, and then when he was conscious again, Phoebe asked him if it was true, and he said yes, and she was all smiley and stuff, and then he kissed her, and then I threw up in the toilet, but I mean, it's still a happy ending," Lina giggle-gushed out the news.

It took the girls half a second to piece together what Lina said, while the boys were still mumbling things that didn't make sense (except for Skye, who was still guiltily staring at the ground, since Steven was the one he faced when he got Sam, and you know, it's kind of awkward and stuff.), and then Sam squealed. "REAAAALLY? Wow, that's AWESOME!"

Topaz laughed dryly. "And here we were, thinking that Steven was in the hospital because Phoebe knocked him out into next week."

Steven snuck a glance at Phoebe. "Well, she did, in a way…" he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. Phoebe blushed.

"You… you have no right to talk!"

****(UP HERE IS MY GIFT TO… thebeats. ********)**

Topaz wanted some time to herself, so she escaped from the laughter and slipped outside, to enjoy the fresh sea air. _Some girls get all the luck. _She thought bitterly, thinking about Sam and Gary, Phoebe and Steven… Mason and Amber. _They're gonna end up together. Skye's not even worth her time. _She assured herself.

"Hey," Topaz looked behind her, and saw James approaching, a confident smile on his face. "What's got you so tied up?"

Topaz ignored the furious beating of her heart, and replied in her normally cool, stoic manner. "Everything," she stated, looking again at the horizon.

James sighed, and he stopped walking closer to her. "I'm not… traveling with Mason, like we planned."

"Huh?" Topaz asked, shocked. "Why?"

"I told him that… I might need some other things to watch over," he replied, shrugging. A blush creeped on his face, and Topaz let it pass.

"Oh."

"Do you… wanna travel with me?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"Do you want to travel with me? We can go... wherever. I just... want to..."

"Want to...?"

"I…" he looked sheepishly at the ground. "Don't know how to express it, you know… but… I just want to…" he blushed. "Darn it, I'm never good at these things."

Topaz looked at him, cocking her head. "Good at _what_, exactly?"

"Saying how much I care about someone…" he mumbled. Now it was Topaz's turn to blush.

"You can't honestly…"

"But I do."

"James…" Topaz bit her lip nervously. "I just… don't know what to say."

"Maybe that you care for me too, just a little bit?" he asked hopefully, crossing over so that he was in front of her, hair framing his face. Topaz smiled a little, and let it fade.

"You don't know me… as well as I'd want you to." Topaz settled on that, and waited for his reply.

"That's why I want to travel with you. You're not like any other girl I've ever flirted with –" Topaz rolled her eyes, "Okay, you're not like any other girl, _period_. But… I want to get to know the girl behind your mask."

Topaz intook a deep breath. Those were the magic words. No one, no one who had told her he liked her, or love, and in James' case, 'cared for', had ever said those words to her. She started seeing James in a better light.

"You're sensitive…" she mused. "But rash, when it comes to decisions, anyway." She smirked. "You're very, very, loud and flirty… but it does add to your charm. Boys like that turn me off a bit, just for your information…" she added bluntly.

He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "What are you trying to say, hm?"

A real, genuine smile, for the first time ever in the series, spread widely across Topaz's face.

"I think… I'll have to talk with Amber about me traveling with you, James…"

Then, smiling, he hugged her tight.

**

Gary stuffed the clothes he had thrown all over the place during his short stay, and smiled to himself. _Sam. She's… really improved. _He took out the crumpled clothes again, and folded them.

Meanwhile, Skye and Sam were in the canteen, Sam with a Coke, Skye with a ham sandwich. "So… what's the deal with you and Amber, anyway?" the room was empty, since everyone had left.

Skye gave her a look. "There is no deal between me and Amber now, so drop it," he said nastily. Sam just smirked.

"Serves you right, _Spy-_lar…" she said, sipping her Coke. Skye sighed.

"I didn't mean to hurt you like that, Sam, _ever_." He refused to look in her eyes, which made her angrier.

"You become spy for Team Magma? You betray me, Gary, and especially, _AMBER_, and all you can say is… you didn't mean it?" Sam's voice was low, hurt.

"Family matters, Sam… I can't…" he looked at her. "Sure, it's a pathetic excuse, but… Uncle needed me."

"There are other people who care about you! Gary became your friend! Amber CARED… a whole lot more than anyone, I guess… and I… I cared, too! But you couldn't see that!" Sam whispered fiercely, eyes almost filling with tears. "You left the people who cared about you to become… a SPY! A villain, a tool!"

"He's not using me, if that's what you're implying!"

The creak of the door made both of them flinch.

"Did I just hear that? Skye… is that what you've been doing?" Amber's face poked out from behind the door, eyes wide.

**

CHAPTER DONE! Worst cliffie ever…

Thebeats. WOOOOOOOOH. I Just had to put that in. :D

Note: check my author's note later, okay?

Not much to say now… :P

Ja~

Thanks for reviewing! :D and Reading! :D


	15. Author's Note

NOTE:

I'm sorry, but you have to expect later and later updates from me until October. I will update everyone once in a while, like, once every two weeks, if I'm lucky, but that's probably it.

It is not on HIATUS. I am continuing, but I just wanted you guys to know that it won't be that often.

Thanks for understanding; if you do.

Ja~


	16. Finally

"AMBER!" Skye exclaimed as he saw her there, staring blankly at him. "Wait… you didn't need to hear that."

"Amber…?" Sam said quietly. Amber looked at Sam and flashed her a quick smile.

"It wasn't your fault," she said. "Skye…"

"I was going to tell you! I was supposed to… but how could I tell you?" Skye tried unsuccessfully to calm Amber, who was approaching him slowly.

"I told you… I've always told you, ever since the time we first became a couple… that I would try and understand you. If you'd just let me in, I would help you… but you never…" she grit her teeth, and bunched her hands into fists.

"You can't just tell people things like that! Especially people like y-" Skye shut his mouth.

Amber snapped. "What did you mean by _that_, exactly?"

"Nothing," he said, regretting that.

"You know what? I thought… after telling you that my mom… that my mom didn't die, she ran to Team Rocket and betrayed us all… maybe you'd understand that… maybe you'd even think to tell me!"

Sam intook a quick breath. _I never knew that. _

When Skye was silent, Amber pulled back her right hand and slapped him. Sam watched, feeling out of place, as a red mark slowly started to appear on Skye's face. "You've reached the line. I could handle what you've been doing! If you just told me, maybe I could've…" she left the question unfinished. "You said you didn't want to hurt me anymore! Then LEAVE ME ALONE! We're done!"

**

Amber stormed out of the canteen, wiping away angry tears on her cheeks. "He blew it. He blew it so bad I could just…" she made a wringing gesture with her hands.

A soft chuckle was heard from the shadows. "Hm? Who blew it?"

"Who are you?" Amber asked, not recognizing the voice.

"That's not important. What's important is, I'm here to help you."

Okay. So we all know, right, that we shouldn't just open up to random strangers who chuckle from the shadows, but we have to remember that Amber just found out that her (ex)boyfriend has been working for an evil organization right under her nose and he didn't even tell her, and you could tell she is very emotionally unstable.

"Boys. BOYS! And in particular, that CREEP, SKYLAR STORNE!" she yelled at the shadows.

"Skylar Storne, hm? Where is he?"

"Why should I tell you that?" Amber shot back, now getting suspicious.

"Well… you're going to tell me anyway." Archie stepped out of the shadows. Amber recoiled, recognizing him from the files her dad had shown her. "You'll find out that I can be _very_ persuasive."

**

(Right after Amber stormed out)

Skye stared blankly at the door, feeling the sting from Amber's slap… and her words. "Sam?"

"Yes?"

"I… I'd like to be alone."

"Huh? Oh. Oh, sure!" Sam said a bit too cheerfully, and went out to go join Gary in the room.

_IDIOT. You are an idiot. A stupid idiot who doesn't know how to keep his priorities straight. _There was a dull, aching pain in his heart, which he knew now as heartbreak. _If only I had… no time for that kind of stuff now. I just have to… at least say sorry…_

Just then, there was a scream.

**

"You heard that, right?" Sam asked Gary. Gary nodded, suddenly pale. "What if it's Amber or Topaz?"

"Sam, don't worry about it. I'll go," Gary said smoothly, walking towards the door. He felt Sam's hand closing around him. He turned around and saw her eyes wide with fear.

"What if it's Team Magma or Aqua again?"

Gary reached out his hand and cupped her cheek, then leaned so close to her face that their foreheads were touching. "I'll protect you. I swear it. They won't take you again."

Sam nodded. "Then I'm coming with you," she stated. "You're not going anywhere without me."

"WHAT?" Gary asked. "I'm not letting you… I won't… you're not going out there if Maxie's out there… or Archie…"

Sam sighed. "Gary… stop being so overprotective."

She walked out the door, Gary following.

**

Mason had heard the scream too, while he was out walking. _Who… _He shook his head. _It doesn't matter who it is. I'm going to help. _He started running in the direction of the scream, and five minutes later, he reached his destination. And what he saw made his blood run cold.

Amber was battling Archie, her Vaporeon and Arcanine against two Mightyena. "Mightyena, Take Down!"

"Vaporeon, Hydro Pump!"

Mason's hand was at his belt, ready to let Feraligatr do some pounding, but then he felt someone pulling his hand back.

It was Skye.

Skye made a 'shh'ing motion with his hand. _I'll handle this, _he mouthed.

"Mightyena, Roar!"

Amber gasped as the familiar sound of a Pokemon being sent back to its ball was heard. "What… do you want with me?"

"Tell me everything you know about Sam Garrett, her likes, dislikes, the boy she loves… Everything," he whispered menacingly.

"No." Amber narrowed her eyes at him.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to bring you in for further questioning-"

"Step backwards five steps, Archie," Skye stepped into the clearing. "Don't hurt her."

Archie laughed, but didn't move. "I thought you blew it, Skye. Betraying her, betraying every person who cared for you… admit it. Whatever you're doing now is _pointless_."

"I don't care. I'm not going back to Uncle, Archie. I… want to be good."

Archie laughed again. "You? Good? The spawn of the two biggest traitors to Team Magma in the entire association? Don't make me laugh!"

Skye grit his teeth. "I'm not trying to."

"You're making a big mistake, Skye." Archie was serious now; his eyes glinted with pure evil.

"I don't think I am."

Meanwhile Amber had slipped away, seeing Mason behind a tree. She shook with fear, but no tears came out from her eyes. Mason hugged her, whispering, "It's okay… it's okay, Amber…"

**

Sam and Gary were watching Archie and Skye's confrontation from another side of the clearing. Sam was holding onto Gary's arm so hard that her knuckles were turning white. "Where. Is. Samantha, Skye?" Archie asked. "I won't ask again."

"I don't know," Skye said, staring at him in the eye.

"I can't waste my time with you. I must be back at the lair now… and with what you did today… you will pay."

Archie pulled out a remote-thing and pushed a button. A helicopter hovered over him that released a rope ladder, and Archie climbed on.

**

Skye collapsed on his knees, and Sam rushed out to him, forgetting everything. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you, Skye… thank you so much."

He nodded mutely.

Amber and Mason appeared, Amber looking pale in the moonlight. "Yes… thank you Skye," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry. But what you did doesn't change what I said."

"I'm sorry," Skye said weakly.

"I know."

There was a little bit of understanding between them. Gary then stepped out. "Why does he know you're here, Skye? We need to know."

"I don't know," Skye said, looking at Gary. "I don't know, and if I did… I'd never lead him here."

"I never said that," Gary said, even though his tone made it sound like that was what he'd been suggesting in the first place, "But if there's any way at all that he can track you… we need to know."

Skye was silent.

"Look, okay?!" Gary yelled. "Sam's… Sam's in danger! If you keep telling us you don't know – and I'm not saying we don't believe you – then at least _try _to think… what do you have on you that could have lead Archie to you?"

Skye closed his eyes, thinking. Then he opened them, cold realization in his face. "I didn't have anything to do with this-"

"But-"

"_Let me finish_," Skye said, narrowing his eyes at Gary. "We can't do anything about it. I didn't do anything, Sam didn't do anything, no one triggered anything. They have satellite cameras positioned _everywhere_. I remember watching them when I was still a child."

The news struck them like lightning. **(A/N: Lightning. Boom. Hee. xD)**

"It's hopeless," Skye said dully.

"No, it is not hopeless."

They turned around, and saw Sam speaking. "S-Sam…" they said simultaneously.

"Whoa…" Mason exclaimed.

Sam was different; in a way. She was staring blankly at them, but her eyes weren't the deep purple they were; they were glowing lavender. Her mouth was agape, and her hair was everywhere. It was as if she was underwater, and unconscious.

"Who… what have you done to Sam?" Amber finally managed to speak.

"I _am_ Sam… to make things more specific, I am Sam as a Spirit Sage," Sam's voice was strangely modified, it was higher, but with much more authority.

"Spirit… Sage?" Mason asked, confused.

Sam nodded. "I have appeared to you like this because it seems that you are all in great danger."

"No duh…" Gary muttered.

"Gary Oak," Sam turned to Gary. "You must bring me to Steven Stone. He will help us."

"Why Steven?" Skye asked.

"The Spirit Sage before me was his mother," she said quietly. "He knows what Sam must do. If she is captured by Team Aqua or Magma before Steven can instruct her, the effects will be catastrophic. Please, Gary Oak. Please," she said, face unchanged.

Gary nodded. "But what about… you know… the normal Sam? She wants to battle gyms."

"She is aware that she cannot do anything like that for now. I have told her. Now, I want the six of you – Amber Elm, Topaz Elm, James Evens, Mason Rider, Skylar Storne, and Gary Oak – to promise me that you will protect Sam from any harm."

"Topaz and James… aren't here." Amber fidgeted nervously.

"But they are," Sam extended a hand towards the bushes, and Topaz and James stepped out. Both smiled sheepishly.

"We heard… but we were afraid to join," James explained.

"Promise me…" Sam's modified voice was merely a whisper now.

"Yes," everyone said at the same time.

"I must settle down now. Remember, Steven Stone. Sam will drop unconscious after this. Please. Take care of her. Stick together." Suddenly, the light in Sam's eyes faded, and her eyelids slowly shut. Her knees gave out beneath her, and Gary rushed forward to catch her.

Everyone was quiet. Words would have to wait for tomorrow.

**

_Sam was running, but that was impossible. There was no floor; no walls; no doors; no windows. Everywhere, it was white. White, white, white._

_Her breathing was heavy, it was tiring. "Where am I?" Sam cried out, voice echoing._

Samantha._ The voice came from inside her head. _Samantha, stop running. Do not be anxious.

"_Who are you?" Sam asked, voice quavering._

"_I am the old Spirit Sage." There was a bright purple light, and Sam saw a woman materialize into the whiteness. She was tall for a girl, and was wearing a silvery gown made of satin. Her hair was the same color of the gown, yet she looked too young to have grey hair…_

"_Steven," Sam said, surprised. The woman looked exactly like Steven._

_The woman smiled a radiant smile. "Yes. He is my son. I am proud of him."_

"_Is it… alright… to ask questions?" Sam asked shyly._

"_Curiosity is not something to be shy of, Samantha. My name is Arianne."_

"_Ar… Arianne? Why me?" Sam knew she knew the meaning of the question._

_Arianne drew closer, smiling. She laid a hand on Sam's cheek. "You are a very special child. You were chosen; do not ask me how, I am not someone who knows these things. Even I do not know why I was chosen. I guess… it is fate."_

"_What do I need to do?" Sam was comforted by Arianne, it was as if peacefulness was an aura surrounding the two of them._

"_First of all, go to my son. He was the one who helped me control my inner sage. He can help you, too."_

"_I… I met with him. And he told me that, but… something went wrong, and I don't know where he is now," Sam said quietly._

"_Then you must find where he is. Secondly, Samantha… Stay away from Team Magma and Team Aqua." _

_Her voice was lower now. Sam looked into Arianne's eyes and saw that an uncharacteristic coldness was in them. "Then, maybe you know Skye? He's Maxie's nephew. He said he's changed, but can me and my friends trust him?"_

"_That boy… is very interesting. He has a pure heart. You may. Thirdly… I want you to put your trust in one person. One person that you will never lose trust in."_

_Sam smiled at that. "Gary Oak. Definitely."_

_Arianne looked surprised. "Not one of the girls?"_

"_Amber and Topaz don't understand or know me like Gary does. That's why I choose him." _

_Arianne smiled. "I can see that. And that person… Gary… will go before anyone else. Anything else. Remember that."_

"_What? I don't understand-"_

"_My time is up, my child. I have to settle down. I will always be in your heart. Remember that. I do not know when I'll appear to you again. But remember everything I have told you."_

"_Don't-!"_

_Arianne smiled and kissed Sam on top of her head._

_And everything white became black._

**

"I got a hold of Steven," Amber announced as she entered Gary's room. It was the next morning, and everyone was there. Amber had gone out to look for Steven, or at least someone who knew Steven.

"And…?" Gary asked, not taking his eyes off of Sam. She wasn't awake yet, and it was eleven in the morning. He hadn't slept that night either; he was watching her like a hawk. She had muttered his name twice; the first time, 'Gary Oak', then… 'Gary'.

"He says he'll be here soon, with Wallace, too," Amber said. She plopped down onto the floor next to Topaz, who was reading.

"So… what do we do now?" Skye asked the room in general.

"We do exactly what we were told last night. We stay together," Gary said firmly, lips in a taut line. "And we protect Sam."

"Yeah," Topaz said. "I think I'd like that. I don't like seeing Sam in the middle of all of this. It's just… so… unfair."

Amber nodded.

"So I'm taking it that you two are going to hold off of the gyms for a while?" James asked. Gary nodded.

They were silent for a while.

"What was that, yesterday? It was as if… whoever that person was… it was as if he or she was possessing Sam," Amber said quietly.

"Steven talked to us about it," Gary said. "He never dove into details or anything, but he made it clear that the Spirit Sage wasn't harmful."

"There's something about your tone," Mason said suddenly. "You're not telling us something."

Gary was silent. "I was dead scared last night."

"We all were-" James started, but Gary held up a hand to stop him.

"_Not_ like I was. You have no _idea_," he said. "But… I thought it was the end."

"The _end_? Are you serious? Why would you think of something like that?" Amber asked, incredulous.

"I know… and I've heard, and Wallace told me that if the Spirit Sage remains uncontrolled, just like that…" he in took a deep breath. "Sam will die."

"WHAT?!" the others yelled, looking scared, incredulous, and unbelieving.

"Yeah…"

**

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe. Just remember that you have to breathe. Sam was underwater now… she was underwater and she could breathe. _

"_Arianne? Arianne are you there?" Sam called out, but nothing but a stream of bubbles issued from her mouth. She clapped her hands on her mouth, feeling stupid._

"_I feel a Spirit Sage approaching." A low rumbling voice caught Sam off guard, and she turned her head to see two blurry figures in the water, coming closer._

_She held her head high. She felt no danger. "Yes. I am a Spirit Sage."_

"_So young…" a female voice said quietly. "To put her life in danger like this…" Sam saw many other large shapes approaching._

"_Oh my god…" Sam whispered in reverence, as the figures came closer. The first who had spoken (could he really speak?) was Lugia, the legendary Pokemon. The female was Kyogre, and approaching was Groudon, Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos and Ho-oh. There were three littler shapes flitting around, and she saw them clearly as Manaphy, Celebi and Jirachi. "How can you guys be underwater?"_

"_We're not underwater," a high voice said, and Sam saw that it was Ho-oh speaking. "It is merely an illusion in your head. We, the legendaries, aren't even close to each other right now, physically. This is all because of you."_

"_Oh! I'm… I'm sorry," Sam mumbled. The three baby legendaries laughed._

"_There's nothing to be sorry about!" Celebi grinned. "We love meeting like this."_

_Moltres opened its' mouth to speak. "We're here to give you assurance." Sam took an immediate liking to Moltres since she acted and sounded like a mother._

"_You can summon us anytime you'd like to," Groudon said in a low grumble. "You can talk to us if you need help, just reach inside your inner Sage."_

_Sam bit her lip. "You're all so nice to me." She laughed. "I can't even believe I'm doing this – talking to the best known legendary Pokemon of all time… It's amazing…" she whispered the last word._

_Jirachi floated a bit closer to her. "I'm sorry for making you faint before."_

"_Huh? What are you talking about?" Sam asked._

"_You fainted when you were with Arianne's son, Wallace, and Gary, right? Yeah, that was because of me." Jirachi twirled in an uncomfortable circle. "They told me not to try to contact you, but I was… excited."_

_Sam laughed. "It's okay, Jirachi…" she said, giving the young Pokemon comfort._

"_It's time for you to wake up now, Sam…" Articuno said. "Remember what Moltres said. We'll be keeping in touch."_

**

Gary was alone in the room. It was already seven in the evening, and he hadn't left Sam's side to eat, or get some exercise. The others were getting an early dinner. "Sam… why won't you wake up? Please… wake up…" Gary begged the unconscious Sam.

"AH!" Sam's eyes flew open, and Gary was relieved to see that they were a normal shade of purple. She sat up in the bed, blinking rapidly. She smiled hugely when she saw Gary. "Oh, Gary…" she reached over and hugged him tightly.

"Do you… do you remember what happened last night?" Gary asked her tentatively.

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "All I remember is going blank after we went to Skye, but… Oh, Gary… it was… _amazing…_" she told him every detail of the dream, with Arianne, and then about the legendary Pokemon.

Her eyes were sparkling; Gary had never seen her this excited. It mad him smile. "Sam, I'm just so glad you're okay."

"Gary?" Sam remembered something that Arianne had told her, about the one she trusted. So she told him about that. "Are you okay with that?"

"Sure I am!" Gary said quietly. "But… be careful. Please, just don't use your powers recklessly or-"

"I'd _never_ do something like that!" Sam said sharply. "Honestly, Gary… be happy for me for once!"

"I am, but…"

"Understand me! I… I really am going to be careful, Gary! Why aren't you… why aren't you…"

"I CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT YOU!" Gary yelled. "I CARE _A LOT_, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU HURT!"

Sam was quiet. "Gary, I-"

Gary leaned close to her. "Sam." Then he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

**

Okay. So I can FINALLY update. And to reward you for waiting… I FINALLY made them kiss.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!

This was a very dramatic chapter, the climax for the rest of the story. Sad to say, no more gym battles, but really, really, really good regular Pokemon battles.

Thanks for waiting this long. I'd cry with happiness if people would reply.

AND I'VE REACHED 100 REVIEWS!  once I figure out who's the 100th reviewer, I'll dedicate a chapter to the person.

So…

Ja~

Read and review!! :D


	17. Purple's Choice

_No way. No. Way. Gary. Gary is kissing. Gary is kissing me. Oh my no way. Whoa. _Sam was frozen to the bed as Gary kissed her. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and pressed herself against the kiss. His hand was cupped around her face, and she was wrapping her arms around his neck.

It was then a spark went of in Sam's brain, and she shoved him off and scooted into the farthest corner in the bed away from him and covered herself with the blanket, breathing hard.

Gary blinked, and stared at the heap of blankets where Sam was. "Sam?" he said quietly, voice hoarse.

"Mmmmphmmmmphmmm," was her reply.

"Sam, just talk to me… please…" he begged. _I can't believe I did that. What if she never talks to me again?! What if I screwed everything up!? What if she HATES me!? _

But, in all reality and bluntness, Sam was asleep.

**

"_What was it like? Kissing him?"_

"_Did you feel fireworks?"_

"_DID YOU USE TONGUE?" _

"_JIRACHI!" Moltres scolded the youngster, who had just said the tongue comment. "Where in heaven's name did you GET that?"_

"_I heard it from… okay, I don't know. But the mouth is in the tongue, right, and if you kiss with your mouth, then you have to use your tongue-"_

"_That's enough, Jirachi, ENOUGH," Articuno berated him. Sam blushed. Sure, sure, the Pokemon just CAME to her in her dreams. She knew it was more than a dream, but well…_

_Articuno had asked the first question, Zapdos, about the fireworks. And Jirachi, of course, that infamous little wishing legendary, just had to be curious._

_Lugia laughed. "Oh, you're so grown up. Your first kiss," he said endearingly. Sam swatted at him. _

"_Where are the others, anyway?" she asked._

"_Hm, you mean Kyogre, Groudon, Ho-oh, Celebi and Manaphy?" Articuno asked. Sam nodded. "They were going to introduce you to some other Legendaries but they haven't arrived yet-"_

"_This is the Spirit Sage?" A booming voice asked, deep and full of disdain. _

"_Oh…" Sam breathed. "I've heard of you… Dialga…" she whispered. Dialga looked down at her. _

"_You're very young."_

_Sam looked up bravely at Dialga. "Yes."_

"_I'm surprised at Ariane" Sam turned her head and saw Palkia. _

"_Why?"_

"_You are so young," Palkia said, almost sounding snobbish. "She doesn't understand that our ambassador to the human world must understand the values of life. The Spirit Sage has to have the knowledge, the courage-"_

"_Palkia. Dialga. Stop it, both of you," Mewtwo commanded the two, appearing out of nowhere. "You're hurting her."_

_Sam smiled gratefully at Mewtwo. "Thanks."_

"_But we are merely stating the facts!" Dialga retorted. "She's putting us in danger!"_

"_Haven't you thought that maybe WE'RE the ones putting HER in danger?" Kyogre said, almost angrily. "Think, you two!"_

_Palkia made a noise that sounded something like a snort. "We're the ones putting her in danger? Can't you think about yourself for once?"_

_Mewtwo was suddenly in Palkia's face, angrily staring it down. "Palkia, a human, protecting us from her own kind. That is enough, that is all we can ask of her. Do you want to her die for us, too?"_

"_That's enough, Mewtwo. Palkia. Dialga," Ariane swooped down on them, coming from nowhere. Her expression was stern. "Palkia and Dialga, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Mewtwo, thanks, but enough is enough."_

_Sam looked at the two Sinnoh Legendaries, who were looking at her crossly. "Ariane… I have to talk to you."_

"_Hm? Oh, what is it, Sam?"_

"_I think… I'm putting Amber, Topaz, Skye… Gary…" she said, whispering the last name, "in danger. I don't want them to get hurt."_

_Ariane looked at her, a sympathetic look on her face. "Do you really feel that way?"_

_Sam nodded. _Now that things between Gary and I have… changed… I just can't let him get hurt because of me. I just can't. _"Arianne, I don't know what to do!"_

"_I can't tell you what to do, Sam… You have to make the right choice."_

"_Then tell me what YOU did! I know you felt the same way, and I know you can't have stayed with the people you loved! So tell me!" Sam begged._

"_I regret what I did, Sam, and I don't know if you want to do the same," she said, voice unusually cold. "Do you realize what I did? I left Steven… I left his father… I left you."_

"_What? Me? What are you talking about?" Sam's brows met in the middle of her forehead._

"_Uh-oh. Looks like 'the talk'," Articuno said quickly. "Come on guys, this should be just between the two of them. Let's go, vamos," he made shooing motions with his wings. Grudgingly, the Pokemon vanished into thin air, leaving Sam and Arianne alone._

"_Did Steven ever tell you why I died?" _

_The sudden question caught Sam off guard._

"_N-No. Why?"_

"_I must remind you to be open-minded, Sam, okay?" Arianne asked, and for the first time, Sam noticed that Arianne seemed… afraid. Sam nodded, and Arianne took a deep breath. "I gave birth to my second child, Steven's supposed younger sister, and I just couldn't take it."_

"_But what-"_

"_Let me finish," Arianne said sternly. "I left Steven and his father, because I didn't want to put the in danger, you know about my gift," she smiled slightly. "Steven was about ten at the time __**(A/N: Let's just make him around 24, since he seems around that age to me.) **__and I so didn't want to leave him, but it was for the best. And I found out that I was pregnant, after three months away from them."_

_She sighed, and Sam felt sympathy for the older woman. Sam let her continue. "I couldn't just go back, and tell them I was pregnant. So I did it all alone. There were four more months left, and I was alone."_

"_I gave birth, and… I died. But before I died…" she looked at Sam, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "Before I died, I named my daughter Samantha. Samantha Daniela."_

_Sam stared at Arianne. "What?"_

"_After I died, the nurses made it their mission to find a home for her. She became… she became a Garrett." _

"_Arianne."_

"_Sam?" she said, almost tearfully. Sam wordlessly leaned over and gave her a hug._

**

Sam immediately woke up. The room was still dark. _Everything she said… it was real. _She clapped a hand over her mouth, and she realized she was crying. _Arianne is my mother. Steven's my… brother. _

It was still dark out. Sam looked over at the other bed, where Gary was buried underneath fluffy pillows and a thick white comforter. She smiled sadly, and she knew what she had to do. She tiptoed over to Gary, pulled back the covers from his face gently, and after seeing that he didn't wake up, she kissed him gently – on the lips.

"I'm sorry, Gary…" she whispered, tiptoeing slowly away, creeping towards the closet. "My mom made the same decision. I have to protect you for now, and I understand what I have to do." When she was done scribbling a note on the drawer, she smiled serenely. "I understand now, too, that I love you. Don't forget me. Please."

**

Gary woke up early the next morning after a horrible dream.

It was something like Sam slapping him after the kiss and then running over to Skye and yelling to the world, "I LOVE SKYE, NOT GARY!!!"

But there was something wrong, something he sensed when he woke up. "Hey, Sam? Come on. Let's go down for breakfast." _If I can pretend that nothing happened last night, then maybe everything'll go back to normal. _But there was no answer. "Sam?"

**

_Dear Gary, Amber, Topaz, Mason, James, and Skye:_

_I'm sorry for disappointing you all like this. It's what I have to do… what I have to accomplish before I can handle this Spirit Sage thing. I care so much about you all, but can't you see that you'll be much better for you guys if I'm not around?_

_It's dark outside; the stars are still out. I don't know what else to say. _

_No one will want to hurt you anymore. The only thing they want is me and my gift. You are all my best friends; I can't let anything happen to you. _

_Amber, Topaz. I really enjoyed the two of you. Please, keep the group together. If there's anyone I think who can do this, it's you two. I'll miss you guys._

_Mason. I know you have those awesome Pokemon. Use them to get the guys out of trouble, okay? Because I really don't want them hurt. Take care._

_James. Make sure you keep everyone laughing while I'm gone. I'll see you again, I promise._

_Skye. You've changed. I can see that. Take care._

_Gary. Oh, what am I going to do with you, Gary? You make me guilty to leave, relieved since you're safe, and sad because I won't see you for a while. I'm not leaving because of what happened, Gary… don't EVER think that. I love you, Gary Oak, and that's why I'm leaving. You can't be in the middle of this anymore. I'll miss you. Don't forget me._

_Well, I hope you guys aren't mad at me… well, if you aren't, in my opinion, you're all idiots. You should be mad._

_I'm sorry._

_I'll see you again._

_-Samantha Daniela Garrett-Stone._

_(Steven knows)_

"That's all it says! Honest!" Amber was choking back tears as Steven's eyes raced back and forth, reading the paper. Wallace was shocked. The two had arrived earlier that morning, and were surprised to find out that Sam was gone.

Skye became blank after hearing the news, Topaz burst into tears, her twin doing the same, Mason was shocked, James tried to crack a weird joke about it, and Gary… after reading the book, was silent.

"So… the rumors were true…" Steven said softly, a strange glint in his eyes.

"What… (sniff) rumors?" Topaz asked, sniffling all over her new sweater. James patted her on the back.

"My mom… ran away when I was ten… because she wanted to protect dad and I… but they say she gave birth to a girl after she left. It was Sam…" he said quietly. "Sam's my sister, I see now."

"I don't care if Sam's your sister or not! I want her BACK!" Amber yelled.

"We can't do anything now. She probably left around early morning. About one am, two am. Something like that, seeing as the stars are still out," Wallace said, looking at the letter again.

"How is Gary holding up?" Steven asked Skye, who was closest.

Skye shook his head. "You might as well not ask. We haven't talked to Gary ever since he thrust the paper at me and said in this dead tone, 'Sam's gone', and went back to his room. I think he's still in there."

Steven sighed. "Those two… it's just…"

Skye looked as if he was in pain. "I know."

**

_I want you BACK Sam, I don't care if I die, I just want you BACK! With me! _Gary pleaded inside his head. _I NEED you Sam, and now that you've just written that you love me… I want to know. If you're okay… I want to know when you're coming back. Sam, I really need you now… _

(knock-knock)

Gary was silent.

"Hey," Wallace stepped inside, letting himself in. "Do you mind if I stay here for a while? It's hot downstairs."

No answer.

Wallace, undeterred, crossed the room and opened the window. "You two have a nice view here."

Gary blinked.

"Gary…" Wallace said, gently. "It's okay to miss her. You can't hide it. No one can hide pain. It shows eventually." Gary stared straight ahead, even though Wallace's word hit him straight to the heart. "We all miss her. Amber and Topaz are crying like someone died downstairs."

Gary looked at him, and then turned around. "She's dead. It's almost as if she's dead." He said sourly.

"She isn't," Wallace stated.

"How do you know?" Gary shouted, not facing Wallace. "Has she been in touch with YOU? So I guess she trusts OTHER people now, besides me!"

"Where is all of this coming from?" the older man looked in suspicion at Gary. "You're not… jealous?"

"No! In fact, I'm angry! If she could've TOLD me that she was feeling like this! If she told me last night, she could've woken me up and we could've talked! But now… now she's GONE! And I'm not going to see her again, for a very long time!"

Wallace was silent.

"I'd do anything to turn back time!" Gary almost started crying, but well, he doesn't cry, so… "I should've woken up last night! I should've… I should've… now she's GONE!"

"It's not your fault she's gone, Gary…"

Gary's head snapped up. "What?"

Wallace repeated what he said a little more firmly. "She's not gone because of something you did, and she stated it specifically in the letter," Wallace said, withdrawing the letter from his pocket. "Don't be sad, Gary… she wouldn't want you to be sad."

**

"AAAAH!" Sam squealed as a Carvanha leaped out of the air and in front of the boat she had rented from the dock. "Treecko, Bullet Seed!"

It was a one-hit KO.

And there was silence. "It's just the four of us now, guys!" Sam said, a bit too cheerfully. She looked at her other Pokemon, Poochyena, who was running around in circles on the deck, and Taillow, who was perched on the little mast of the boat, and sleeping calmly, and Treecko, who near the steering wheel, half-asleep, half-watching. "And I don't think I like that…" Sam whimpered.

Taillow cawed, obviously trying to give her comfort. "But I'll be strong!" Sam said, smiling. "Because my mother did the same thing."

Sam battled her heart out on the ocean, seeing new Pokemon, and even catching a few (she added to her collection a Wingull) and almost forgot about Gary.

Almost.

**

That was a short chapter, even by my standards. I'm sorry. But it was a really big turn in the story, so that's my lame excuse.

I won't bug you with excuses about how I couldn't update, please.

And all of you are invited to the special filler chapter next chapter. If you want to be in it, just review the following:

**Name: (if you own an OC here, not the name of your OC, but at least another NAME)**

**Description: (tall, short? Skinny, fat? Blonde, Brunette? Brown eyes, green eyes? Everything goes here!)**

**Personality: (Sarcastic? Friendly? Cold? Just specify it.)**

**Pokemon: Maximum of FOUR. **

Basically, next chapter's gonna be something like a party, celebrating the fifteenth chapter (what a late reaction) and the 100th review. I've figured it out already, and all I have to do is announce it during the 'party'. The characters, OC's, and Pokemon will all be there, so why not my beloved readers?

In the chapter after the filler chapter (which might come out next week, since I know some of you can't review your character entries by like tomorrow or something), there will be a time skip, and the joining of the LAST TWO OC'S THAT I AM ACCEPTING.

_**Brett Shivers (P.S I have to change your Pokemon around a little bit, please don't mind.)**_

And

_**Aiko Rain **_(I made up a last name for her)

Sadly, you are expecting something like the climax of the story in the following chapters. I think I'll only go up to Chapter 25 or something, but there WILL be a sequel.

Now I have to go, I'm kinda sleepy. (:

So read, review,

JA~…


	18. I Send You My Love

***A/N: Serpent's Ballet: I'm really sorry~~~~ but I don't think I can still add Elena. I've stopped accepting OC's after this chapter… Sorry~~~ well, you still have Skye. **

**CoolAwesomeRandomGirl123: I'll use your OC for the sequel, but just PM so I don't forget! Thanks! I got SWAMPED with new characters. Sorry, but sometimes it's just… a lot. **

**Read and Review, guys!**

_Sigh. _The hair Sam had tried to keep just over her shoulders was now up to her waist, black as a raven. Her eyes still glowed purple, and they still shone when she smiled. But yet, her new companions seemed to notice that there was something missing…

Speaking of new companions, they were Aiko Rain, Izzy Gale, Brett and Rosette Shivers. Aiko Rain had found Sam staggering along the ground in hunger (you have to admit, living for three days on Oran berries is just… not filling.) and had given her really, really good food.

Then Izzy, who was Aiko's best friend, happened to drop by at Aiko's house and saw Sam, who she liked immediately.

Then Rosette, who was stopping by door-to-door selling Coordinator's Weekly, found Sam, and found out that Izzy was her cousin, so they hit it off immediately, talking. That's when Brett stopped by.

Brett reminded Sam of Gary so much that it hurt her heart. He was arrogant, he was a snob, and he was horrible to everyone. And even if Sam had to roll her eyes at every attempt he made at her (Sam is very pretty, lol.), she still thought that he was amazingly Gary-ish.

Three years had passed since Sam ran away from everyone, and she had a little house of her own, a little cottage overlooking a small part of the Sinnoh region. She loved it, seeing the new Pokemon, exploring (that is, after getting food in her system), and getting to know a lot of people. After dumping her PokeNav in a river, she decided to forget things as they were, for now, anyway. She had been traveling around from Johto to Sinnoh, and could not, sadly, produce any Gym badges, besides the ones that she had one with Gary's help.

Sam had caught an Eevee along the way, which had (to her surprise), evolved into an Espeon. (She almost thought about Gary's Umbreon and how it was doing, but she pushed the thought out of her mind) Her Treecko had evolved into Sceptile (with a KILLER Leaf Blade), Poochyena, once hyper, now a fighting pooch, evolved into Mightyena, and Taillow, she had set free, after realizing that Taillow wasn't used to living cooped up. Wingull was now a happy Pelipper, and Sam didn't always use him for battles.

She had caught a Skitty, who was strangely very quiet and somber, which evolved into a Delcatty months later. Another addition to the team was a very happy Absol, which was the yin to Delcatty's yang. Again, Sam thought of her friends, Amber and Topaz, and how her Pokemon reminded her of them, but she pushed the thoughts away after a tear slid down her cheek.

Another Pokemon she had caught was a very, very stubborn Pikachu, who she evolved into a Raichu. She didn't like taking Raichu out on long journeys (like the time she went around Kanto) but Raichu was best for Gym Battles.

Then there was Houndoom. Sam, while on her journey around Kanto, bumped into it and it had burned some of her hair off. But Sam had realized that it was just angry and in pain because of a splinter in her foot. Typical story, but it happened.

Sam sat on the window sill, now seventeen, and another tear dripped slowly down her face.

"Gary, I send you my love…" she whispered, as the wind carried it away.

**

"Swampert, Surf! And when they're distracted, get over here and we'll Dive out!" Gary, now eighteen, commanded his Swampert as they battled their hearts out in yet another branch of the Aqua lair. There was an opening to the sea, but they'd have to dive to get through.

Swampert successfully did both commands, and Gary and Swampert emerged from from the entrance, soaking wet and tired. Gary struggled to pat Swampert on the head. "We're wet, hungry, and exhausted, but we still did it." He smiled.

"SWAM!"

There was a boat nearby, and Gary ordered Swampert to swim closer to it. "Almost there, and you can return to your ball."

"Nice work, Gary!" Phoebe leaned over the railing and smiled hugely at him, the sun glinting off an engagement ring on her finger.

Gary nodded his thanks, and soon they were at the boat, dripping wet. "Swampert, thanks. Return," he clicked the Pokeball and Swampert disappeared in a flashing red light.

"Have you got it?" now seventeen year old Amber demanded. She now sported glasses like her twin, but she cut it short. So at least now, you could tell even more easily who was who, even when both took off their glasses.

Gary rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket, where a brown envelope folded in half was. "Don't look at me like that, Amber, I HAD to fold it. And it didn't get wet, since this is a waterproof envelope. (Hmm. Nice invention.)"

She smiled in spite of herself, taking the envelope from his hands. "Thanks," she said, opening the envelope.

"Gary."

Gary turned his head to see Steven walking towards him, another twinkling engagement ring on HIS finger. "Yeah?"

"Run into any other trouble?"

"Hmm…" Gary tapped his index finger against his chin. "There were like ten Aqua goons there, with like, itty-bitty little teeny weeny Poochyena, so it was okay."

Steven rolled his eyes. "Stop being so confident, Gary," he scolded.

He shrugged. "Hey, I wonder what Sam's doing now?"

Amber heard that comment. _Oh, Gary… it's almost as if you're making sure we won't forget about Sam. How could we when she's everything to us? _She sighed. _Topaz and James have been looking for her, Steven's been worried sick about his little sister, and Gary's been… Gary's been awful. Sam, I'm so glad you're not here to see Gary so heartbroken. It would kill you._

"She's probably relaxing right now, not worrying if she's got the right information in that envelope," Steven pointed out. Amber and Phoebe laughed.

"Oh go on, laugh about it. But I seriously wonder what she's doing right now." Gary leaned against the railing, looking at the clouds. "Sam…" he whispered. "Wherever you are, I send you my love."

**

"Oh… My… Freaking… UGH!" Topaz screeched as she and James trudged up the mountain. They were looking for Sam, and James had insisted on THIS mountain, since anyone could be hiding. But Topaz wanted to check some more in Snowpoint City, which was close by, since it made a whole bunch of sense for Sam to be staying comfortably in the city.

Topaz waved a map in James' face, which was a gigantic one that Steven had printed out and laminated for them, and was a detailed map with Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh cities marked and appropriately labeled. So far, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn cities had been marked with an 'X' in black permanent marker, meaning Sam was not in any of those cities.

"Sam would LIKE to stay in a nice, posh, mansion-y place in Snowpoint! I think that's it!" Topaz pleaded. She had been shrieking earlier because tons of twigs had either got stuck in her hair, or ripped her sweater.

James laughed and patted Topaz's shoulder. "It wouldn't hurt to try…"

Topaz grumbled as James kept walking forward. "Oh, it hurts, Evens, hurts more than you know," she muttered.

**

"ANOTHER attack on the base!" Archie yelled, furious, to the unfortunate goon who had to report him. Maxie just watched them curiously, and Giovanni and the leader of Team Galaxy were watching too… hey what are they doing here?

Two years ago, Teams Magma, Aqua, Rocket, and Galaxy had formed an alliance, with one thing they wanted in mind. Samantha Daniela Garrett-Stone. (A/N: Let's call them Team MARG.)

Hee.

Giovanni sighed. "Archie, if you're done yelling at your pathetic goon, then maybe we can move on."

The goon flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm done," Archie said stiffly, lips in a tight line. "For now," he added, so only the goon could hear.

"Skye!" Maxie called out. "Come here, now. Any sights of the girl?" Skye, now eighteen, stepped into the room, wearing a red Magma uniform. Now, now, now, what was HE doing in here? Especially after that last chapter, you know, that 'Skye, you've changed' thing there… Actually, he has.

Steven ordered him to go back undercover in Team Magma (now Team MARG, lol) so he could get information from the CORE. And when Skye told him about Team MARG (A/N: Man, I mean, that's just such a funny name!) of COURSE Steven went BALLISTIC but that's another story.

"No, uncle. MARG," he tried not to laugh, but a snort escaped his nose, "Goons have been combing the areas, but no sign of Sa-Purple," he said quietly. "And someone is here to see you."

"Hm? Not an enemy?" Skye shook his head. "Then bring him in."

A young looking, handsome man (Well, when you compare him to Giovanni, Archie and Maxie, man, this dude is HOT) stepped in, wearing a white uniform. "My name is Alex. I am the Leader of Team Eternity, and I am interested in joining this league of evil people."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Maxie asked calmly.

"My underlings are black belts in Karate and Taekwando, are the top in their high school class, and are exceedingly good-looking," Alex said smoothly.

"You're in!"

The leader of Team Galaxy (you know what? Lets call him Bill.) leaned over to Giovanni. "That fast?"

Alex smiled serenely. "Thank you."

"Great! From now on, we will be called Team MARGE!" Maxie announced.

Skye couldn't hold it in – he was laughing so hard, he was crying. "Team MARGE?" Archie yelled at Maxie. "TEAM MARGE? You want me to be part of a team named after my MOTHER?!"

"Your mom is named Marge?" Bill asked.

"Does that even MATTER?" Archie screamed.

Yes, hell was running loose in Team MARGE's (snort) HQ.

**

"Yeah, that's right. The reunion of all Gym Leaders in Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn. We need to get prepared for the worst, according to Steven." Mason, now a messenger for Steven, reported to Claire in Johto.

"The worst, huh? Sure. Tell him that all he needs to do is call, and I'll be there."

**

Sam dressed up in a light blue button up cotton shirt and jeans. She was planning on heading to Snowpoint City today, to chat with Rosette. She reached for her dresser, and smiled to herself as she took, from the table top, a pair of hairclips embedded with purple gemstones…

(knock-knock-knock)

"Coming!" Sam called back, and hurriedly clipped her bangs to the side of her hair. She rushed down. _Maybe Izzy wanted to accompany me to Rosette's… _she mused. She opened the door, and…

"Excuse me, but we were selling Coordinator's Weekly!"

_Why do those two look so familiar? _Sam asked herself, racking her brains. Two people were standing in front of her, a boy and a girl, both about her age, and…

"James!" the girl said, almost breathless. "James, it's… Sam!"

_James… James… OH MY GOSH! It's… _Sam rushed forward and hugged the both of them tightly, and they returned her hug almost as quickly. "Topaz! James!"

And that's when Sam started crying all over again.

**

_Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring… _

Amber picked up her PokeNav. "Sis? What is it now? Did James fall into another hole-" Phoebe, Steven, and Gary, who were examining the notes Gary had brought from Aqua base, heard a burst of chatter, so high-pitch and loud, that the three almost doubted it was Topaz on the other line.

"WHAT?!"

Another burst of speech that could be heard from the other side of the boat was heard. Obviously, something really good, or something really bad, had happened. "You think they found Sam?" Phoebe asked, hopeful.

Gary shook his head. "Probably uncovered something really big, like… oh, another family secret, like Maxie's actually my dad or something…"

Steven rolled his eyes. "There's also the possibility that Team Aqua or Magma have raided the city they're in now…"

"What did you say, Steven?" Phoebe asked, brows furrowing. "They're raiding cities now?"

"They want to take over the world fast, I bet," Steven muttered, looking down at his pages. "They're looking for Sam."

Gary's throat constricted, the way it always did when he heard news about what the evil side was going to do to Sam. "No."

"Huh?" Steven turned his attention to Gary.

"Too many people, hurt because of heir selfish needs…"

"That's why we need to bring them down and find Sam before-"

"SHE'S OKAY!" Amber squealed, running over to them tears in her eyes. "James and Topaz found her!"

"Slow down, Amber, slow down. What happened, now?" Steven was fully aware of what they had said, but it was just too good to be true… He had to make sure.

"Sam… She's… she's… she's okay! And Topaz and James are with her right now!" she squealed happily.

Gary dropped what he was reading, and all the papers scattered across the floor, and on the table. But no one really minded.

"Where is she?" Phoebe asked, almost as excited.

"She's on this mountain, near Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region…"

They turned around to where Gary was, to see his reaction to all of this, but he was already about a mile away, riding on his Flygon (caught as a Trapinch on his Hoenn journey) to where Sam was.

"Oh, that's just so sweet." Phoebe wiped her eyes with her hand.

**

"So, why were you guys saying something about Coordinator's Weekly?" Sam laughed.

"We've been all over, Sam…" James explained. "We use that as an excuse, ask for a young girl who was looking for this, and sometimes, we'd see someone who'd look like you, but didn't have purple eyes. You don't know…" James sighed. "How worried everyone was after you left."

Sam bit her lip, but then changed the subject. "So, anyway, tell me about the others! How are they doing?" she said cheerfully.

Topaz smiled. "It's as if we were preparing for World War Three or something."

"It's that bad?" Sam asked. "I mean, I was practically isolated on a mountain for three years! You can't blame me!"

"Well, from what we heard… they're practically uprooting the world looking for you," James said. "Which is an example of what Skye does."

"What does Skye do?"

"He's undercover in Magma," Topaz explained. "You have to admit, he's the best one for the job. Seeing as his uncle practically LOVES him, his uncle believed that 'his eyes were opened when Purple rejected his friendship'. Good idea, no?" Topaz winked. "Then there's Mason, who's in this on again, off again thing with Amber."

"They fight a lot?"

"Oh, nothing that serious, it's just that Amber still isn't trusting. But you can see it, though, those two are starting to love each other… Anyways, Mason's sort of the roaming person. Messenger, Ambassador, whatever you call it. He's calling all the Gym Leaders now, since Steven's too busy to pick a phone…" Topaz rolled her eyes. "They're getting ready for a big battle, if they have to."

"Speaking of Amber, she works with Steven, Phoebe, and Gary."

"Gary?"

"Yeah," James said, a bit uncomfortably. "So, those four are like, at the top of what's going on. They sneak into Magma bases, get information, that stuff."

"Oh."

Topaz knew what Sam was dying to ask, it was obvious in her purple eyes. "Sam, Gary's still in love with you."

Sam blushed, and Topaz knew she'd hit the spot. "He can't…"

"Do you honestly think he'd stop loving you after you left?" Topaz demanded. "SAM! Try to THINK, once in a while!" she laughed. "In fact, he's seemed to make his own job for himself. He always mentions you twice every hour. Like, 'Hey, I wonder what Sam's doing right now,' or, 'You know what? Sam would say…'" Topaz smiled at Sam. "He loves you."

They were interrupted by the beating of wings outside, LOUD beating of wings outside, and confused, the trio rushed outside. A large Flygon was outside, just landing. But Sam's heart jumped to heaven as its' owner jumped down from its back.

"Gary-"

Gary heard her squeak, and he walked, using long strides, so it was basically running. They stood close to each other, staring at each other's face. He towered over her now, at almost six feet, Sam at a little five feet four. They weren't anymore the fourteen year old and the fifteen year old who had their first kiss kind of awkwardly… they were seventeen and eighteen, and haven't seen each other for three years.

"I missed you," Sam choked out, not moving.

"Not like I did," Gary replied, staring straight at her.

Sam threw her arms around him, crying into his chest, and Gary smiled and hugged her back. "I love you," he said quietly.

Sam looked up. "What?"

"I love you… I love you… I love you… I love you," he repeated over and over again. "You can finally hear me, Sam… I love you."

Sam stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, for a short time, but a kiss, nonetheless. "I love you too. I'm sorry."

**

SORRY GUYS. I DECIDED TO RESERVE THE PARTY UNTIL AFTER THE LAST CHAPTER. **I AM NOT ACCEPTING ANYMORE OC'S, PLEASE. **

I finally got them to say I love you to each other. Man, it wasn't like I expected it to be, but still, I did it! I'm thinking this might be about 20 chapters, so get ready for a finale.

Yes, Steven and Phoebe are engaged.

Yes, Team MARGE is kind of pathetic, when you think about it. I was so lol when I was writing that part. Hahaha.

Yes, James and Topaz are going steady.

Yes, Brett, Rosette, Izzy, and Aiko will have a bigger part after this.

No, Skye is not evil. He's a double-double agent or whatever you'd call it.

No, Skye and Amber are NOT getting back together.

And YES, there will be MORE humor in the next chapter. I couldn't fit in anything humorous (besides Team MARGE) here since this was kinda serious-ish due to the separation, the almost World War III, and the 'send my love' thing, which is the title of the story.

There will be character death in the final chapter, wait, the chapter before that, so try and guess who THAT'S gonna be.

Read and Review guys,

JA~


	19. Coming Back

Gary let Steven hug his sister. It was almost too good to be true, seeing Sam again after all these years… and letting go of her was almost impossible, especially after he'd confessed his love to her, and vice versa. But the moment Steven arrived, Gary knew that those two had to talk.

Sam grinned hugely, despite the tears, at her brother. "Aw, look, now I have a big brother!!" She squealed, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "And from what it looks like, a new sister-in-law…" she teased, looking at Phoebe's hand, then at Steven's.

"Well…" Phoebe hugged Sam now, smiling gently. "We didn't want to get married without you!" Sam grinned back.

Amber practically jumped on her. "I MISSED YOU SO FREAKING MUCH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D LEAVE US! I MISSED YOU SO FREAKING, FREAKING, FREAKING MUCH!" Sam laughed.

"You know what? You look cute in long hair," Phoebe commented, twirling a long strand around her finger.

"Thanks," Sam said, beaming. "Hey, why don't you guys come in, I mean I have a lot-"

"SCEPTILE!" a green blur flew from nowhere and landed on Gary.

"Ah!" Gary yelped, as he fell to the ground. "Hey, you're not such a little Treecko anymore, aren't you?" he grinned, patting Sceptile on the arm.

"Scep! Sceptile, Scept!" _Doofus! I'm just happy that you and Sam reunited!_

Umbreon stepped from behind a tree, licking herself. "BREON!" _TREECKO! YOU'RE SO TALL! _She jumped happily towards Sceptile and purred.

"Hey, Umbreon?" Umbreon turned her head to Sam. "You wanna meet a friend of mine?"

"Breo…" _Well… sure… _

"Espeon! Espeon, where are you?" Sam called out. Sam's Espeon jumped down from Sam's cottage's roof, looking curiously at the hoard of new people on his territory. He purred.

"Umbreon," _Wow… _Umbreon gaped in silence at Espeon, who was gazing at her in silent reverence.

"Awwww, don't they look so cute together?" Amber cooed.

**

Sam's house was just a little two-story cottage that she had found one day. She lived with Aiko for like, four months, and found this when she went hiking. It was a pretty little cottage, with warm water and a kitchen and sitting room and two bedrooms.

"So… Mason should be landing in a few?" Sam asked, picking at the lettuce in her salad, which Amber had decided to make.

Amber nodded. "He's coming from Johto, since he was just informing all the Gym leaders about the situation."

Sam was silent. "It's that bad?"

No one answered her.

"Sam…" Steven started. "Yes, it's that bad. From the information gathered by Skye, they're getting almost desperate to find you. They've started to raid cities," Steven added, after a few minutes.

"But… why?" Sam asked, voice high. "I'm not… SPECIAL! I'm just… I can't even control-"

"That's exactly why they want you," Amber cut in, serious now. "You're unstable. You haven't controlled any of the legendary Pokemon now, you still can't get your Spirit Sage under control. And you need to know this Sam, now."

"What do I need to know?" Sam asked warily, looking each one in the eye. "What?"

"Sam, if you…" Steven looked in pain, and looked away from Sam's face. "If you can't control this, you die."

"…What?" Sam asked, dropping into her chair (she had stood up when Sam told them that she wasn't 'special'.).

"You die," Gary said bitterly. "Does it LOOK like we want you to… you know?"

"No." Sam bit her lip. _I was running away because I thought that it would solve everything… but now, I've just made everything WORSE! _"I'm sorry," she whispered, almost inaudibly. Steven smiled at her.

"It's okay, Sam. The good thing now is that you're back with us."

The door burst open and Mason Rider burst in, looking tired. "Clair's okay with it, I didn't get to speak with Lorelei and the others, since they were busy," he told Steven, who nodded, interested. "Hey, Sam!" he crossed the room, and hugged her tightly. Mason's hair had been cut short, but it still looked good with him. He also had a little hoop earring on his right ear.

"You're… so… tall…!" Sam gasped out, laughing. He was crushing her, but it felt good, in a way.

He let go of her and ruffled her hair, smiling. "Man, you've got us all worried…" he muttered, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Sure, sure!" Sam beamed a bit forcibly. "Sit down, okay? We need to talk about serious things now."

Mason nodded, and practically collapsed into the seat next to Amber. She smiled at him, and then turned her attention back to Steven. "So anyway, Steven, I've got all the Hoenn gym members on call, Kanto's gym leaders too. The Elite Four was a bit tricky though, since I couldn't see them unless I beat them," Mason made a face, "Which is why it took me so long to solve _that_ little problem…"

Steven laughed. "Looks like everything's okay, though. But what about Johto and Sinnoh?"

"Johto leaders agreed right on the spot!" Mason said, nodding to emphasize his point. "But I haven't been able to find Jasmine."

Steven sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Jasmine has always been running away…"

"But Sinnoh's doing good so far, Fantina's even getting all her Pokemon ready at this minute. And I'm planning on going to Candice today…" Mason was silent, then brightened a bit. "Steven, I also got to meet with some Frontier Brains."

"Excellent!" Steven smiled hugely. "Who?"

Mason was silent for a moment, thinking. "Anabel, and Spencer. Tucker and Lucy. That's all, but that's because the others were busy. They said they'd pass along the message. Oh, and I bumped into Agatha in Viridian."

"You're doing a great job," Steven complimented. He turned to Sam. "Mason is gathering up the gym leaders for the biggest gathering, which is when we have the confrontation with Team Magma, Aqua, Rocket, Galaxy, and… according to Skye, this new team, Team Eternity."

"Hey, hey, hey, look, if you put all the five teams together, you get MARGE!" James started laughing. Beside him, Topaz banged her head onto the table, sighing.

"Very funny, James," Steven said, rolling his eyes. "But they're getting powerful. All the teams… That's why we have to get everyone who's willing to help, help."

"How's Skye?" Sam asked.

"He's passing us information," Topaz explained. "We had to think of something that would _really _make Maxie believe that Skye was back for good, you know, an excuse. But it turned out to be a total waste of time, since Maxie welcomed him back right from the spot."

"He didn't suspect… anything?" Sam asked disbelievingly.

"Well, we think that Archie hates Maxie now, but he can't break up the united teams, since he wants to rule the world, too," Topaz said, sighing. "So for the past two years, Skye's been giving us a heads up, let's say, for example, if Mason happens to be in Mauville City and Team Magma are about to raid it. That kind of stuff."

"Did it happen?" Sam asked, eyes wide.

Mason nodded, looking disgusted. "I couldn't go out of the city in time, since even Skye didn't know about it until later. So I had to watch from the skies. I just came out of the Watson's gym, and then all hell breaks loose."

There was a crackle from Amber's pocket, and she looked alarmed. "Skye's calling. But he doesn't call at this time unless…" she shuddered, and pulled out another PokeNav from her pocket. "Skye?"

Sam stood up from the table. "I think I hear Absol and Delcatty fighting again," she sighed. And it was true. High-pitched screeching was coming from the back of her little cottage, and sounded very much like Absol had gone a bit too far in his teasing.

Sam walked out through the back door, and saw that Delcatty was using Double-Slap to try and teach Absol a lesson. She hissed. _You _idiot_ Absol, why can't you be more mature like other Absol I see when we're on the road?! LEAVE ME ALONE!_

Absol's mouth turned at the edge, making it look like he was smirking. _But I can't leave you alone! _Absol rolled his eyes. _You're much too fun to play with. _

Delcatty would have leaped on Absol if Sam hadn't got in the way, blocking Absol from a what would've been a very painful attack. "I leave you guys alone for ten minutes! _Ten minutes_! Just so I can talk to my friends, and you guys think you can just start making war in the backyard?!?!" Sam yelled at both of them.

Delcatty's ears flattened as she glared at Absol, who was lying down peacefully in the grass behind Sam. She let out another hiss. _I HATE YOU, ABSOL!_

Sam sighed wearily, just as Gary stepped outside, looking for her. "What's up with these two?"

"Gary, this is Delcatty and Absol. I caught these two along the way, but they…" she glanced at the two, "_Won't. Stop. Fighting._" Delcatty ignored Sam, and pranced dangerously closer to Absol.

Gary chuckled. "Absol doesn't seem to care, though," he pointed out. Absol was quietly using his paw to trace patterns in the grass, something strangely similar to the patterns on Delcatty's ears…

Delcatty didn't seem to notice this though; she had turned around and was holding her head up high, probably looking for someone else to talk to. Absol sighed, banging his head into the ground.

"What's up with you?" Sam asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I think he _likes_ your Delcatty," Gary said, smirking at Absol. "Isn't that right?"

Absol's face turned crimson red, and he shook his head violently. Gary and Sam waited for a few moments, and Absol let out a sigh, and nodded his head once.

Sam squealed, and hugged Absol around his neck. "AWWWWWWWWWWW, that's just adorable!!!!"

Absol rolled his eyes, but the blush was still there. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Amber stood in the doorway, looking nervous. "It's a raid! Team Aqua squads are coming here; we have to go, NOW!"

Gary nodded, and looked at Sam. "Please don't tell me all your Pokemon are out of their balls." Sam nodded, sighing.

"But Delcatty knows where everyone is, she can help me," Sam stated. "Absol, get their Pokeballs, you know where they are. And hurry, please," she said, looking at Absol. Absol nodded once, and was gone in a flash. "Delcatty?" Delcatty's pinkish head poked out from a bush a few meters away. "Where is everybody? We have to go now."

Delcatty nodded, then looked to the skies, where Pelipper was. Pelipper cawed. _Coming, Deli. I'll look for Raichu, Mightyena and Houndoom._

Delcatty pranced towards Sam, just as Absol came back, Pokeball pouch around his neck. Sam reached in for two balls, and returned Absol and Delcatty. "You guys just stay in there." Pelipper cawed from the distance, and below him, Raichu, Mightyena and Houndoom were on their way. Sam returned the three of them at once, then called to Pelipper. "Where's Espeon?" Just then, Sceptile came out of the trees. Relived, Sam returned Sceptile to his ball.

"Umbreon?" Gary called out. "Sam, Espeon was with Umbreon, right?" Sam nodded. She returned Pelipper to his ball.

"We have to look for them," she said, worried.

**

Skye frantically rushed through the base. _This is really bad. Archie doesn't trust me. It's a good thing I just found out about the Aqua raid like, twenty minutes ago. At this rate though, they'll be close to Snowpoint city, and if what Amber says is true, and they've found Sam, they'll be in huge trouble when all the corps get there. I have to get to my room and get-_

Maxie stood in front of Skye's room, holding and looking quite interested with Skye's PokeNav. "Amber Elm… Topaz Elm… Steven Stone," his eyes flashed, as he scrolled through the contacts. "Tell me, Skye, what have you been doing, _contacting _these people?"

Skye was silent. He was caught.

Maxie smirked, and hurled the PokeNav at the wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. "I say that I put my utmost trust in you, and you repay me with this… _treachery._" Maxie was calm, and Skye, knowing his uncle, knew that that meant he was in trouble. "You were a spy for them all along."

"Yes, I was," Skye said, looking at his uncle in the eyes. "I was, and I am."

Maxie's eyes flashed. "You've been passing information to them all this time."

"Yes."

"And you knew that Purple was in Snowpoint City, and you never told us."

"Yes."

"Most of all, you knew where Steven was and you have been contacting him ever since you 'came back'."

"Yes."

Maxie and Skye stared at each other. Suddenly, Maxie rushed at Skye, and held him up by the collar, lifting him about half a foot off the ground. "You are my nephew. Is it really that hard to be loyal?"

"I was doing it for Sam!" Skye yelled angrily. "For everyone! They don't deserve what you have planned for them!" Maxie scowled and pushed Skye against the nearest wall.

"Don't _I _deserve to be happy, Skye?" Maxie said angrily.

"If people have to pay the price for your happiness I don't think you deserve it," Skye retorted. Maxie dropped him to the floor.

"You… are… a traitor," Maxie said sourly.

"I changed," Skye said, withdrawing two PokeBalls from his belt. "We're out of here, Altaria, Masquerain!"

Skye's Altaria and Masquerain (evolved from his Surskit) appeared in the hallway, eager for a fight. "Masquerain, Bubblebeam! Altaria, get ready to Fly!"

"Masq!" Masquerain let out a stream of bubbles, so strong that Maxie had to block his face.

When the bubbles subsided, and all that was left from the hallway was rubble and a huge hole in the wall (courtesy of Altaria's Wing Attack), Skye was gone.

**

Sam and Gary were hovering a good twenty meters above the ground on Gary's Flygon, searching the forest below them for signs of Espeon and Umbreon. Mason and Amber fit on Fearrow, while James and Topaz rode on James' newly caught Pidgeot, and Phoebe and Steven were on one of Steven's Metagross. "We have to find them quickly!" Amber called out. "I can't get a hold of Skye, there's something wrong, and I think those helicopters are Aqua's!" she pointed to the distance, and there were about three helicopters hovering over Snowpoint.

Gary gulped, but proceeded to look for his beloved Umbreon. "They're close. I mean, Espeon and Umbreon. Sam and I will be okay, trust us."

Topaz was about to protest, but Steven cut her off. "Gary, we'll be at base. You know," he nodded, and then nodded again to Mason and James. They flew away.

"Base?" Sam asked.

"Right now, all we need to worry about is finding Espeon and Umbreon," Gary smiled at her encouragingly, and they flew around in circles.

**

"I can't believe I have to go on this raid with you, Inferno…" an Aqua leader by the name of Pearl scowled at the first Magma member Gary and Sam had ever met.

"Oh, go cry over your dead dreams," Inferno snapped. "We have to find Purple," she snarled at Pearl. "Skylar's PokeNav recorded a call from that mountain, so I guess that's where we're going," she said, pointing at the mountain on the right, not noticing a Flygon frantically circling the mountain…

**

"Umbreon? Espeon!" Sam called out, looking for flashes of lavender and black in the trees. She rubbed her forehead, rolling her eyes. "Those two are in _so_ much trouble when I find them that when their children have children, they're STILL gonna be in trouble," she muttered.

Suddenly, Flygon froze, and turned his head a little east. "What is it, Flygon? Sense anything?" Gary asked, also turning in the same direction. Flygon nodded vigorously. "Hold on tight, Sam," Gary said softly, tightening his hold around Flygon's neck. (Sam was behind him) "When Flygon flies, he's… okay, you'll find out for yourself," he said, looking over at Sam and smiling.

Sam wrapped her arms around his waist. "Alright, Gar-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sam screamed as Flygon sped to their destination. She heard Gary laugh to himself.

Flygon skid to a stop (or, the closest thing to skidding that Flygon could do in mid-air, actually) and true to word, underneath a large tree, were two quivering balls of fur. "ESPEON!" Sam yelled at her Pokemon.

"UMBREON!" Gary scolded, as Flygon coasted lower towards the ground, so that the two could jump on board. Sheepishly, the two jumped up and started purring.

_We lost track of the time! _Umbreon purred as she rubbed against Gary's arm, while the latter rolled his eyes. "Umbreon, you are in so much-"

"Camerupt, Overheat." On instinct, (luckily) Flygon rose into the air, shocking Gary and Sam. They were about fifteen feet in the air now, but there was no mistaking the slightly short blond-haired girl from some previous chapter smirking at them, a leering Camerupt staring right back at them.

"_You,_" Sam hissed looking at Inferno. Inferno laughed.

"Aren't you a big girl now? And isn't your boyfriend a nice little hunk muffin of a boy now?" Inferno winked at Gary.

"You were the one who attacked Sam!" Gary said angrily, ignoring her comment. "Flygon, Dragonbreath!"

"Easy, easy," Inferno said, looking at Camerupt. "Flamethrower, and make it a good one, while you're at it."

The two met in midair, causing a lot of smoke. "We can't run away. If we turn our back on her, that won't stop her from attacking us while our backs our turned," Gary said to Sam. Sam nodded.

"I'm not fourteen anymore, Gary. I can actually battle quite well now," she said, grinning at him. "Alright! Let's show them what we've got, Raichu!"

"Rai! Raichu, rai, chu rai!" _Awright! Another battle! This just perks up my day! _Raichu smirked at the Pokemon in front of her, electric spark crackling from her cheeks.

"Double battle works with me, too!" Inferno taunted. "Time to meet an old friend, Mightyena!" in a flash of red light, Gary froze at the Mightyena who had charged him that fateful… day. Flygon landed on the ground, Sam, Gary, Espeon and Umbreon jumped off.

"Raichu, Thunderbolt that Mightyena!" Sam commanded.

"Raiiii…. CHU!"

Mightyena howled as Raichu hit her mark, but growled and kept his composure. "Mightyena, Take Down Raichu," Inferno said, cold eyes intent on battle.

"Flygon, another Dragonbreath, now!" Gary stepped in, intercepting Mightyena as the Dragonbreath crossed his path. Mightyena growled.

"Camperupt, Flamethrower!"

"Raichu, Thunderbolt!" Raichu's Thunderbolt clashed with Camerupt's Flamethrower in the air, resulting in an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Camperupt looked heavily damaged, while Raichu didn't look that bad. "Follow-up with an Iron Tail on Camerupt!"

"No," Inferno snarled. "Camerupt, get out of the way!"

"Rai, chu!" Camerupt, being the big lug he was, couldn't move, and got hit across the back from Raichu's Iron Tail.

"Camerupt!" Inferno cried out as Camerupt fell to the ground, unconscious. "Darn you!" she screeched at Sam. "Camerupt, return! Mightyena, Bite!"

Mightyena lunged at Raichu, and Raichu cried out as Mightyena bit her. "RAI!"

"Perfect…" Sam smirked. "I was hoping you'd do that! Raichu, THUNDER!"

"Rai… CHUUUUUUUU!"

**

Mason watched a big explosion occur from the eastern side of the mountain. He turned to Amber. "Should we help them out? Looks like their in a battle," he explained to her. James, Topaz, Steven and Phoebe had gone ahead, leaving Amber and Mason as back-up. Amber nodded, and stretched.

"I could use a good battle," she admitted, and withdrew a Pokeball, smirking.

**

_She almost won that single-handedly. _Gary said in awe, as Mightyena fell to the ground, twitching from severe paralysis. _Her technique's improved, she doesn't waste time anymore. She just attacks directly. _

Sam glared at Inferno. "You've messed with the wrong girl," she stated. Inferno laughed.

"Weren't you the one that had to be saved?" she mocked. "And your boyfriend had to take the price. Isn't it a little sad?"

Sam planted her feet firmly in the ground, staring Inferno in the eyes. "Shut up, you immature jerk," she rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I can't think of any other insult for you, although a lot of swear words come to mind."

Gary laughed.

Inferno snorted. "And you are still such a little girl, with the mind of a fourteen-year-old," she waved her hand dismissively. "Even if I have lost the battle, I haven't lost the girl. So, I guess you're coming with me-"

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Mason, Fearrow and Amber zoomed down from the sky as Blastoise was released from his ball.

"Oof!" Inferno was blasted away and down the mountain by a very nice Hydro Pump (courtesy of Blastoise) and Mason turned to Gary and Sam.

"You guys have a lot of time to fly away. Have you found the two… oh, there they are," Mason said, seeing Umbreon and Espeon hiding behind a tree. "Let's go," he said, speaking to Gary more than Sam. "Aqua squads are on their way up now. We have to hurry, come on."

**

Thirty minutes later, Sam was shocked into silence when they reached the 'base', and saw Skye Storne sitting on a chair. His hair, if anything, was long (but in a hot way!), and he was still slender in a boyish way, but there was something about him that had… changed. His eyes lit up when she entered the room.

"Hey… I thought he was undercover?" Sam blurted out. Skye smirked.

"Actually, he was, but Maxie found him out, and now he's back with us," Steven commented.

It was a nice little base, besides the fact that it was waaaaaay on the top of Mt. Moon (don't remember? It was the mountain where Clefairy gather around) and hidden in the caves, and they couldn't turn on their PokeNav's if they were within a two mile-radius of Mt. Moon, since team MARGE (chuckle) could now track PokeNav's. It was almost like a mansion hidden in the caves, since there was a bedroom for each member (meaning, Topaz, Amber, Steven, Phoebe, Gary, Mason, James, Skye, and Sam, and two guest rooms) with about four bathrooms and a huge kitchen. There was a TV room and a computer room (for obvious reasons) and Topaz had installed in a painting room for Amber.

After the tour, Sam was impressed. "But I still don't get why you guys gave me a room, you know… even if I wasn't with you."

Gary smiled warmly at her, and after a little hesitation, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "Simple. Because we always knew you'd come back.

**

CHAPTER DONE!

Okay, expect another chapter this week. This is almost *sniff* the end of Just Being Purple. But like I said, there's a sequel. I have it planned already, but I just have to finish this first.

Read and Review, guys…:D

Ja~


	20. Of Kidnappings and Computer Hacking

The next weeks passed by like a blur. Steven and Phoebe planned their wedding (who says you can't be in love when there's a war going on?!), Mason and Skye worked together to inform each and every Gym leader and member of the Elite Four in advance about the upcoming battle, Amber wrote tons of invitations to Steven and Phoebe's wedding, Topaz and James did various errands for Steven, sometimes flying to Viridian to ask Agatha something (Agatha was someone who didn't check her PokeNav often) or helping out people when there was a raid by battling the various members of Team MARGE (still cracks me up! :D).

On that day, however, Sam and her parents had a talk.

"Mom," Sam said, choking back a few tears as she hugged her mom.

Gary was with her, of course, but he had decided to give them some 'private time'. Sam had gone back to her hometown of Oldale to talk to her mom and dad about her future now. "Oh, Samantha, you gave us a real bad scare!" her father chided her.

"Honey, we're sorry for not telling you that you were a Stone… it's just that we thought you might want to know about that part of your life later, when you'd finally figure it out, but it turns out that you found out anyway," Sam's mom said, sighing as she pinned back a long strand of Sam's hair behind her ear. "We love you, Sam, don't ever think that we don't. We'll miss you," she smiled.

"And we'll be cheering for you every step of the way," her father added. Sam smiled hugely, and hugged both of them again.

"I love you guys…"

**

"Right, so these invitations are for Lorelei-slash-Prima, Bruno, and Agatha, and over there," Steven pointed at a pile of invitations next to the three lone invites, "Are for the Gym Leaders in Kanto and Johto." Amber nodded, comprehending.

"Do I have to go to Sinnoh today?" Amber asked. Steven shook his head. "Alright, I'll be going now."

**

"Hey, before we go back to base, there's some place I wanted to show you," Gary commented to Sam, as they flew back to base riding Gary's Flygon.

"Hm? Oh, okay. Sure," Sam said, leaning drowsily into Gary's back.

He smiled at the contact. It was ironic, the way they were like Steven and Phoebe before, sweet with each other but never with the 'are-we-going-steady?' talk. But it _was_ better than nothing. It _was_ better than him not knowing at all where she was. It _was_ better than that awful silence after their first kiss.

"Sam?" he asked quietly. She was silent, so he guessed she was asleep. Go figure. She had a long day. "Okay, Flygon. You know where we're supposed to go." Flygon nodded in comprehension, then made a sound that made him sound as if he was laughing.

"Oh, be quiet, Flygon. She's really special to me, you know."

Gary couldn't see, but Flygon rolled his eyes with a tiny hint of a smile as he headed off to the special place.

**

"A-ha…" an Eternity troop leader, a man with spiky black hair and big muscles, smiled evilly as he looked through his binoculars. "We've got you cornered, miss…," he laughed. "Angela! Adeline!"

"Sir Andrew?" a girl with long red hair tied into a braid spoke up, her companion, also a girl with long blue hair tied into pigtails, waking up from the nap she had been taking.

"Angela, please stop sleeping before we go recon," Andrew mumbled. "Right, anyway. You see that Pidgeot?" Adeline and Angela nodded once, focusing on the Pidgeot that was flying over the clump of trees they were hiding in. "Get them."

With that single command, the two members of Team Eternity sprung into action. "Let's go, Venusaur!" Angela called out.

"Walrein!" Adeline's gigantic Walrein appeared in all its glory. "Ice Beam that Pidgeot!"

From up in the air, Amber caught a glance of an icy-blue ice beam coming her way. _Uh-oh, _she thought. "Pidgeot, Fly up now!" she pleaded. The Ice Beam missed. "Who the heck's doing that?" Amber yelled below her.

The next answer was a flurry of Razor Leaf.

"Alright, that does it," Amber muttered under her breath. "Pidgeot, we're flying down!"

(Back on the ground)

Andrew chuckled. "Yes… she's going down. Now it's my turn," he chuckled again. "Alright, let's give them your Thunderbolt, Ampharos, and make it a really big one, too."

Amber then crashed through the trees and caught a glimpse of the three white-clad members, and confusion flashed across her face. But that was all it took, that second of hesitation…

**

"… _And you two look SO cute together!!!" Jirachi squealed happily, flying in circles around Sam's head. Sam playfully swatted at him, smiling, her purple braces glinting off her teeth. _

"_Anything else you wanna add, you little Wishmaker?" Sam teased, lunging for him._

"_Aren't you in a good mood," Articuno teased, winking (like only a bird could wink) at Sam. _

"_Reuniting with friends is always just SO fulfilling," Sam admitted, hugging Jirachi tightly. "Hey, he's so huggable!" Sam squealed._

_Celebi stepped out of nowhere and charged at Sam. "Hey, you haven't been talking to us lately," Celebi pouted._

"_Well, I've kinda been tired ever since I've joined up with the gang already," Sam explained to Celebi. "I've been ALL OVER the place."_

_Celebi hugged Sam around the knee. "At least you're happy."_

_The ground thudded, and the force made Sam fall on the floor. "Hey- what's happening?" she asked, as the ground shook more, making Celebi bounce up and down on the floor._

_Articuno blinked once; twice. "Someone's trying to wake you up."_

_Sam sighed. "Gary," she muttered under her breath._

_**_

"AH!" Sam's eyes flew open to see Gary's face right in front of her, both hands on either of her shoulders, shaking her. "Gary, what happened? Is there a fire or something? Are we under attack?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "Just because I'm waking you up doesn't mean that we're in mortal danger, Sam…"

She laughed. "Just checking. Hey, where are we, anyway?"

They were on top of a mountain, from the looks of it, and the sky was still the lightest blue, with a tinge of pink. Gary held out his hand to help her up (she was lying down on Flygon's back) and she accepted, smirking. "This is a mountain I found," he said, gesturing at the open space.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "So you found a mountain. Did you get to name it, at least?" she teased.

He sighed, smirking a bit. "No, but if I could name it, I'd name this… _Mt. Sammie Oak_!!!" he yelled, making the words echo throughout the various mountains and trees and forests. A flock of Swellow flew out of nearby trees. Sam blushed.

"Stop thinking ahead and tell me what's so great about this place…" she murmured. Gary smirked.

"I found it the day after you went missing," he said quietly, a serious tone in his voice. Sam, surprised, looked up at him. "We're actually near Dewford. I… borrowed James' Fearow, and flew around a bit, really late. And then there was this weird purple color that caught my eye… it was in the sky," he explained, seeing Sam's confused expression. "So, of course, I told Fearrow to come closer."

Sam looked in the distance. The sunset was just about to happen, and orange and pinks tainted the sky.

"The sunset… I don't know what happens, but it always, always makes the sky turn purple from this view," Gary said, a smile crossing his face. "And ever since… whenever I'd miss you… I'd always come back here. And remember you," he said seriously, turning towards her.

He reached out a hand, and gently tipped her head upwards by placing his index finger under her chin. He smiled, and leaned forward to close the gap between them. Sam's hand drifted unconsciously to his, and she entwined her fingers into his hand. She leaned back, breaking the kiss. She laughed. "Gary…"

Gary smirked again, and leaned in for another kiss, just as the sky started to turn purple…

**

_Crack. _

The glass Mason was holding cracked as it dropped to the floor. "What?" he asked, not believing a word Steven was telling him. "But… That's… Not… Possible," he protested weakly.

Steven sighed, shaking his head. "Amber was… taken. I don't know how, but she never showed up at Lorelei's, or Bruno's…" he rubbed his temple. "I don't know where she is, but there's no other explanation."

"I don't want to believe it!" Mason yelled. "Do you have any proof, or _anything_?" he demanded Steven.

"Your Pidgeot." Steven reached into his bag and pulled out a singed Pokeball, and placed it on the table in front of Mason.

"Pidgeot?" Mason asked again, taking the Pokeball in his hands. "He's alright, is he?"

Steven nodded once. "Found severely paralyzed. Could've been the work of a Raichu, an Ampharos, or an Electabuz. I don't know, but it was an Electric Pokemon who did that to your Pidgeot. You did let Sam borrow him, didn't you?"

Mason nodded mutely. _Is she alright? I hope they haven't done anything to her. God, I hope she's alright…_

**

"…got her, just like you wanted," Amber could hear a male's voice saying.

_He sounds familiar… oh, why does my head hurt a lot? Where am I and aren't I supposed to be delivering invitations to someone? _Amber thought, her eyelids fluttering.

"She's awakening," the same voice said suddenly. Amber opened her eyes to the sight of the man in white who had attacked her earlier, and the men she knew respectively as the leaders of Teams Magma, Aqua, Rocket, and Galaxy.

"What do you want from me?" Amber asked hoarsely.

Bill laughed. For those of you who forgot who Bill was, that's the name I christened the Galaxy leader. "Amber Daffodil Elm, assistant leader of the group who's trying to thwart our plan of taking over the world, off-again, on-again girlfriend of Steven Stone's special messenger, Mason Rider, twin to Topaz Rose Elm, daughter to Professor Elm. We want _information._"

"Well, you've come to the wrong girl. I'm not giving it to you," Amber said stubbornly, giving them the famous Elm Glare.

Maxie now stepped forward. "Dear girl, do you know what we did to Sam? We chained her to a bed. And we will do worse to you if you don't talk to us."

"Like I'm afraid of that," Amber spat back fiercely.

"Oh, you will be…"

**

"MY SISTER IS _WHAT_?!" Topaz screeched at Steven. Sam and Gary, who had just arrived from their little trip, echoed the same ideas.

"What do you mean, Amber's missing?!" Sam yelled.

"WHAT?!" Gary had cried.

As Steven nodded, Topaz started tearing up. "B-But what do they want with my sister? Why her, of all people?"

"I think Maxie wants information about us," Phoebe said quietly, tapping away at her computer.

"Phoebe? What are you typing?" Steven asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"I'm hacking into the security systems of the Main Base's computer," Phoebe explained, typing in some more codes and stuff into the computer.

"You can do that?" Gary asked, interested.

Phoebe nodded. "Right now, I'm going to check if we can get visual images from their security cameras. We're bound to find Amber somewhere," she added, smiling at Mason encouragingly.

Mason tried to smile, but it came out as a weak grimace. He looked at Gary, who was watching Phoebe work. _Finally… I know how you felt, Gary, when Sam was taken away from you… And it hurts… really badly… _

"There!" Phoebe smiled triumphantly. Mason leaned forward as twenty four screens popped up on Phoebe's computer. "Darn it, it's all too small…" she tsked.

"Here," Gary had offered. "I can hook it up to the TV."

"Thanks, Gary," Phoebe sighed, relieved.

Ten or so minutes later, they were looking at the inside of the Magma Main Base, searching the rooms for their brown-haired companion. "Darn it all," Mason exclaimed, after they switched screen after screen, looking for her. "She's not here."

Phoebe clicked on another screen, one they hadn't checked yet. "This one looks promising."

Sam exhaled briefly, shocked. Everyone turned to look at her. "That's the room they kept me in."

Mason looked closer, and rose his eyebrows. "Yeah, that's right."

For those who have forgotten the previous chapters, Mason was the one who saved Sam from this particular room; something Gary didn't exactly want to remember.

"Someone's sleeping on the bed," Steven pointed out. "Phoebe, can you zoom or something…?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, I guess so…" she tapped more codes into the computer, hissed when a firewall popped up, muttered curses whenever she hit a wrong key, and finally displayed to them the zoomed in version.

"Oh, my God…" Topaz gasped. "That's my sister!" sure enough, they could see Amber, eyes closed, her long brown hair spread across the pillow. There was an unmistakeable purple-blue mark on her cheek.

"They _hit _her," Mason said, voice dangerously low.

Sam shook her head, closing her eyes. "We have to go in there and get her!"

"HOLD IT!" Steven ordered, for Mason had immediately nodded at Sam's idea, and the two had gone rushing to the door. "You can't just rush into something like this, we need a plan."

Mason bristled. "My girl's out there in the hands of five maniacs, and you don't want to RUSH?"

"I meant it figuratively- oh never mind, we have to form a plan _quickly_," Steven said, rubbing his temples, "Look, if they're this desperate, it means that they're close to putting their top priority plan in action." He looked at each one in turn. Phoebe, who was busily exiting the screen and digitally eliminating any proof that they were here, Topaz, who looked like she was about to lose it, Sam, worry clousing over her very pretty features, Gary, his arm protectively around Sam, eyebrows knitted in worry, Skye, breathing shakily, James, reaching for Topaz, and rubbing her back comfortingly, and lastly, Mason. Mason looked as if he was torn between which emotion he should go with; anger, fear, sadness…

_Six teenagers… brought into a war, all because of those stupid, idiotic, greedy imbeciles, _Steven thought bitterly. "Mason, I want you to get the following Gym leaders-"

"_No, _dammit. I'm going with you guys. I'm going to get Amber. I'm not going to fetch the Gym leaders, I want to get Amber!" Mason roared.

"No one else can go to-"

"I'll do it," Skye offered. They looked at him in surprise. Skye and Mason had never been on friendly terms, and the main reason would be Amber. So why was he… "She needs you, and frankly, I don't trust anyone else to get her…" he finished lamely. "And she loves _you,_ and I really think that she'd want to see you… instead of me."

Mason was quiet, then a small, uncertain smile crossed his face. He nodded. "Thanks."

Steven turned to Skye, and continued. "I need Wallace, Winona, Sabrina, Tate and Liza, Misty, or any of the sisters manning the Gym, and Norman."

Skye mentally reviewed the list Steven gave him, and nodded. "Where do I meet you guys?"

"Main base." Steven laughed dryly. "Don't look for an invitation. If we're not outside, just burst through the door and windows."

Skye smirked. "If needed, we'll be in perfect style," he added, and ran out the door. "Come on, Altaria!" They heard him call.

"Right, next plan of action," Steven turned to Phoebe. "Phoebe, you'll be with the Stealth group. Stealth group will comprise of Mason and Topaz, eventually, Norman, Tate and Liza. Once you are with the other Gym Leaders, you have to find Amber."

Phoebe nodded. "But what about-"

"Me, Gary, James, Sabrina, Winona, and Misty will attack the five leaders. We'll work something out once we see the situation."

"What about me?" Sam asked, looking up at her older brother.

"Sam, I can't let you get seen by _any_ leader of any team. You have to wait outside of the Main Base, and wait for Wallace."

"So, basically you're saying that I can't… do anything?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes at Steven.

Steven rolled his eyes. "_Dear_ little sister, you and Wallace have the most important job."

"What?"

"You two are going to find Groudon and Kyogre."

"_WHAT?!_" Sam screeched.

"In case something should go wrong, and I mean _anything _and-or _something_, you two have to make sure that Groudon and Kyogre don't get into MARGE's hands."

Phoebe snorted. "What's so funny?" Steven asked.

"It's just… couldn't they have thought of anything else other than MARGE?"

**

"Not a word…" Giovanni muttered, sitting at the big meeting table where the five sat. "I had Butch and Cassidy have a go at interrogating her, but she just won't budge."

"Not to worry, Giovanni…" Bill said, smiling. "My guys will have a crack at her next."

"No one will have a 'crack' at her." They turned to Maxie, who had an eerie, sinister look on his face. "We're going to all out _torture_ her tomorrow."

They were silent.

"No limitations." Maxie hissed, his expression cold. "I am sick and tired of waiting. I need to know what I need to know."

Maxie stood up from his chair and walked out of the room.

**

It was dark.

Very dark.

It was so dark, that Topaz walked into the ocean by accident when they landed on the island-ish Main Base. "It's a _wonder_ no one heard you," Steven whispered, as he watched James and Mason pull Topaz up. Luckily, they could see the first hints of the sunrise on the horizon.

Topaz rolled her eyes, even though they couldn't see.

"Right… now we-"

"What's the plan?" they looked up to see Wallace in his air car. Behind him, they could see Winona, on her Skarmory, Misty and Sabrina riding with Skye on his Altaria, Tate and Liza sitting on Lunatone, and Norman, on an Altaria.

"Wow, you guys were fast," Steven commented.

"Either we're fast or you were still putting on make-up, Steven…" Misty teased. They all descended and Sam got her first look at the Gym Leaders that were unfamiliar to her in the dim light.

For the next ten minutes, Steven hurriedly explained the plan to the Gym Leaders, who looked excited. Sam, meanwhile, observed.

Misty was bubbly; very bubbly, in fact, and that matched the fact that she was a Water Pokemon specialist. She was already acquainted with Gary though, which made Sam a tad jealous, until Gary, sensing jealousy, had pointedly asked, "So, how are you and Ash?" _Whoever Ash is, he deserves Misty. Gary doesn't. _Sam thought, smug.

Sabrina was serious, although she cracked a smile every once in a while. She had a calm sense about her, and Sam found out she was a Psychic Pokemon expert. She was very quiet, too.

Tate and Liza were twins. At first, Sam found it a bit creepy and unnerving when the two started finishing each others' sentences, but then she got used to it. She actually thought that Tate was a girl, but Tate turned out to be a boy. (A/N: Yeah, that's what I thought too. Go on, shoot me!)

Norman was very fatherly, and turned out to be May's father. He was serious when he wanted to be, and funny when he wanted to be.

Of course, she knew Wallace and Winona.

"Looks like we're together, dear Sam!" Wallace said, crossing over to her and ruffling her hair. "It's been a long time since I've seen you!"

Winona gave her a very motherly smile and went over to hug her. "I'm so glad you're safe, Sam…"

"So you're Gary's girlfriend…" Sam looked over to Misty, whose eyes were sparkling. "You're so precious!" she smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"All right, guys… we have to move." Steven looked over at Sam, and nodded. "Take care, sis."

Sam smiled a bit hopefully at Steven. She felt hands encircle her waist, and realized that Gary was hugging her. "Stop it, Gary," she said gently. "You guys have to go now."

"Not without a good-bye kiss," Gary said in a teasing tone. He whirled her around and kissed her gently on the lips. Sam smiled.

Steven coughed. "Alright, now we have to move."

Sam growled. "Ste-_vennnn_, it's not like I get all weird when you and Phoebe-"

Steven raised his voice. "Say bye to Gary, Sam…" he said warningly.

"'Bye, Gary," Sam said simply, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.

He gave her a little wave as they disappeared into the Base.

**

ALRIGHT! I KNOW that it's been like… okay a month and a half? Something like that? Darn. Well, I have an early Christmas gift for all of you. Yes, that is FOUR CONSECUTIVE CHAPTERS. I'm making up for lost time, see.

I won't fill up like half a page of excuses, so just click for the next chapter. Please.

Ja~


	21. Purple Betrayal

"You don't know how worried we were about you," Wallace chided her. They were in the aircar now, and on the way to finding Kyogre and Groudon.

"Oh yeah, well you guys don't know how long I've sat on my bed crying and wondering if you guys were mad at me or if you'd forgotten about me already," Sam retorted calmly, meeting Wallace's gaze.

Wallace took one hand off the wheel and patted her head. "We wouldn't forget about you," he assured.

Sam smiled at him, and noticed something. "Hey, Wallace, I could've sworn the last time I saw you, you were wearing a ring…" she murmured, as he withdrew his hand.

"A ring?" he flinched a bit, but Sam didn't miss it.

"What happened between you and Winona?" she demanded.

"N-Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!"

"We broke up again."

"AGAIN?!" Sam repeated. "How many times…"

"Don't look at me like that!" Wallace protested, noticing her hostile look. "It's a perfectly normal relationship, where the two fight and they can't figure out a situation right away…" he looked at Sam who looked back at him, not believing him. "Okay, to set the record straight, _she_ broke up with me, and not the other way around."

Sam groaned. "What did you do?"

"Like I said earlier," Wallace said, suddenly very serious. "We fight, and we can't always figure out a situation… Sam, I love her so much, but she just doesn't seem to understand…"

**

"HOLY _CRAP_!" Winona yelled, when an Aqua goon popped out of nowhere. "Don't you guys run out of stock goons or what?!"

"Just keep walking, Winona," Steven said calmly, while in the background, Sabrina told her Alakazam to use Psychic. "What has gotten you so… what's the word… winded up today?"

"Winded up?" Winona repeated, rolling her eyes. "I'm not _winded up_, I'm…" she stopped herself. "It's not your problem."

Steven shrugged. "Fine."

Gary and James, who were at the rear, gave each other knowing looks. _Wallace._

"Hey, guys? We're here." Sabrina's calm voice echoed through the passage. "According to Phoebe's information, the meeting place of the five leaders of MARGE," she held back a chuckle, "is right behind this door."

Misty's face got all determined, and she smiled hugely. "Alright! I'm so excited for a battle!"

Steven's face cracked into a smile. "Here's how it goes; Sabrina, Archie. Misty, Galaxy leader. Winona, Giovanni. _I'll _take Maxie," he said, features darkening. "And James and Gary, you guys go for the Eternity leader."

Each nodded. "Let's do this!" James crowed, pumping his fist.

**

It was dead quiet in the section where the Stealth team was sneaking. They were in single file; Phoebe, followed by Topaz, then Tate, Liza, Mason, then Norman at the rear. Phoebe glanced at her little hand held computer, which showed them directions to Amber's chamber.

Phoebe was looking at her cellphone, in which she had downloaded a map that she stole from the MARGE Archives. "Right… so now we take a left here…"

Mason stared blankly at the way that dim-lit lights lit up the way to Amber's chamber. He was vaguely aware of someone poking his side, which he ignored, and heard someone whisper gently, "Just leave him alone, Liza," which he also ignored.

_I'm sorry for all the times I disappointed you, Amber… I'm sorry that I've never told you face to face how much I love you… even though I care about you… in fact, you are the most important person in my life. I care more about you than I care about myself. _Mason thought, hoping that in some way, Amber could hear his thoughts.

Phoebe glanced back at Mason, worried. _The poor guy, _she thought sympathetically. _I shouldn't have let him come. He can't handle it… oh, what am I thinking? He's seventeen, he can handle himself… I hope…_

**

"Right, start again. At the very beginning," Sam begged, turning in her seat to face Wallace. Wallace let out a long sigh, and slumped a bit in his chair.

"No."

"Wallace," Sam said gently, "You'll never get over it if you don't talk about it…"

"What if I don't want to get over it? Over her?" Wallace said grumpily. "This is ridiculous. I'm taking counseling advice from a seventeen year old and…" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the look on Sam's face. "What?"

"I'm trying to help. If you think that it's 'ridiculous', then fine. I won't help," she said firmly, crossing her arms.

Wallace looked at her, and sighed. "Winona thinks I don't trust her."

"What would she think that?" Sam asked him, looking at him triumphantly. "And, you know what? I won't say, 'Reverse Psychology always works'. Oops, I just said it," she said, grinning at him.

He glared at her, and continued. "I… questioned her authority one day and she exploded."

"In what way?"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

"How can you not know what you said?" Sam asked back.

He rolled his eyes. "I don't remember. The only thing I remember is her saying that I was in no position to worry about her… and asked me rhetorically if she was so untrustworthy that I had to be checking up on her 24/7… and then she broke up with me."

Sam had a smug smile on her face.

"What are you smiling about, Sam?" Wallace asked.

"You know, Wallace, you really shouldn't be testing her like that…"

"Testing? Who said anything about-"

"She's just trying to prove to you that she's responsible and that she's not a little kid- hey, that reminds me. How old are you guys?"

"Same as Steven, and Winona's one year younger."

"Right. Going back to the subject, she basically thinks you think she's irresponsible and child-like."

"Where did she get-"

"Ask her," Sam shrugged. "She's mad because you… How many times have you had a fight like this one?"

Wallace was silent.

"Wallace…!"

"Oh, alright…" he put a hand to his brow and sighed. _How did she ever talk me into talking about this?_ "Seven-"

"SEVEN?!"

"Seven_teen_," he corrected her. Sam rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe you two! No wonder she got all pissed off at you! You should know better!" Sam reprimanded him.

Wallace grumbled a bit. "Well, I can't help but worry about her, if that's what you're talking about…"

Sam immediately realized what the problem was. "So you're worried about her… and she takes it the wrong way… and blows up at you?"

He smiled triumphantly. "Couldn't have phrased it better myself."

"Well, come to think about it, you do… what can I call it… you sound like you're… _nagging _her."

"Me?" Wallace stared at Sam disbelievingly. "Nagging Winona? But…"

"That's how I see it. And apparently, that's how Winona sees it, too."

Wallace was silent for a moment, and then smiled at her. "Sam, you must sleep."

"What's with the sudden change in topic, Wallace?" Sam asked.

"Well, I wouldn't want Steven to think we weren't doing our job… You have to locate Kyogre and Groudon. They must be battling right now as we speak…"

But when Wallace looked at Sam, she was already in a deep slumber…

**

"Skarmory, dodge it!"

"Mightyena, Roar!"

"Starmie, lets go! Rapid Spin!"

"Lunatone, no!"

A battle was raging in the main meeting hall of the leaders. It was a fairly even fight so far; Misty was pounding on the Galaxy leaders' Pokemon, Lunatone, with her Starmie (which she still keeps), Sabrina's Alakazam and Archie's Crobat were going at it pretty hard, Winona's Skarmory narrowly avoided a hit by Giovanni's Nidoking, Steven and Maxie were fighting each other head on – Maxie's Mightyena, versus Steven's Metagross. And the leader of Team Eternity was locked in a double battle with James and Gary.

"They brought _children_ to battle me?" the leader of Team Eternity, named Alex for those who have forgotten, scoffed, his two Pokemon, an abnormally large Salamance and a lethal looking Electabuzz looking haughty amongst all else.

"Yeah, well…" James shrugged, patting his Glalie. "Look, my girl's not with me, but I'd really like to go to her soon… and the only way I can do that is _run you over_."

Adam laughed. "Boys in love," he sneered. "The most dangerous weapon. Salamance," he continued harshly. "To the sky." Adam looked pointedly at Gary's Flygon. Gary understood – he was being challenged.

"Flygon, you too."

James patted Gary's shoulder. "I'll work here on the ground. We have an advantage – he has to watch over both of his Pokemon, and we can both concentrate on our own Pokemon."

Gary nodded. "Good luck." James grinned. The two bumped fists once, and turned respectively to their own Pokemon.

"Electabuzz, let's give him a Thunderbolt!" Adam looked at James' Glalie, who playfully stuck back his tongue at Adam. "Make it a really big one, too."

"Glalie, up! And Aurora Beam that Electabuzz outta here!"

"Flygon!" Gary charged into his battle, an eager look on his face. "Dragon Breath, go!"

"Salamance, Flamethrower!"

Dragon Breath and Flamethrower met in midway, causing an explosion that made each battle that was occurring pause momentarily. When the dust cleared, Adam and Gary had an identical smirk on their faces.

"Now we're _really_ getting started."

**

Amber tossed and turned in the bed. _Something's gonna happen. I can… I can feel it, _she thought, consciously touching the area above her heart. "Mason… Topaz…" she mumbled.

She got up from the bed, and walked over to the refrigerator. (This _so_ cannot be a dungeon) She grabbed a Coke, thought randomly of Sam, and chugged it down. _I wonder what they're doing. _

Suddenly, a door creaked open, and someone poked his head in. "Hey, you alright in there?" A Galaxy goon, a man by the name of Aster, sneered. "I almost pity you, girlie. You're so pretty," he said, pointedly looking at her from head to toe. Amber glowered back at him. "And Maxie's planning on all-out torturing later this afternoon."

Amber gasped. _Torture? Darn, I hope they don't do anything _too_ drastic…_

Aster grinned evilly, more like he leered, and started to close the door. "See you later, doll-face."

The door clanged shut behind him, and Amber shivered. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a commotion outside, and she heard… was that Phoebe?

"Mason! You didn't have to _hurt_ him, that's what we brought Pokemon for!"

"He's excited." Amber, with a sudden speeding of her heart rate, recognized the apathy in her own sister's voice. "I mean, what d'ya think, he'd go through this rescue plan _slowly_?" she empathized. "Although… Mason, you didn't _have_ to give him a concussion."

"I got the keys!" Mason, _her_ Mason, sounded excited and she heard the jingling of keys.

A familiar voice sounded both amused and serious at the same time. "Is he always this… happy?"

"Naw, Norman… he's just in love."

"I _am_ in love, and I am excited to open this door," Mason's harsh whisper came from right outside the door this time, and there was an unmistakable 'click' of the door being unlocked.

Mason only saw a blur of brown hair dash towards him and hug him tightly. "Amber!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her, smiling smugly. Amber snuggled warmly against Mason's chest, smiling.

"I knew you'd come for me…"

**

"_The whole entire, freaking REGION is in danger, and all you want to do is… is…" Sam, at the verge of hysteria, threw her hands up in the air._

_The famous three legendary birds simultaneously rolled their eyes. "Sam, we can't exactly just go yelling through all the universe for two specific legendary Pokemon… we _do_ have free will, you know," Zapdos pointed out._

"_Then how do we find them?!" Sam said angrily. "I have people counting on me up there!"_

"_Sam, just calm down for a minute, okay?" Moltres said with that same, soothing tone she had used to make Sam think she was motherly. "Let me explain how this works… we can only meet in here when we _want_ to be in here. Let's say for example, Articuno's having a really tough day, and needs to relax. So he ends up here." Moltres' eyes twinkled. "Jirachi is almost always here, since, you know, he only wakes up every millennium."_

_True to word, Jirachi poked out behind Articuno, beaming at Sam. "That's right!"_

"_So it's kind of like… a lounge?" Sam said, trying to find a word for it._

"_Well, if that's the way you humans can call it," Articuno said, eyes twinkling. He flapped his wings a bit, to stretch them out, and he sighed. _

"_What's wrong, Articuno?" Zapdos asked, curious. _

"_Palkia and Dialga have decided to appear-"_

_The humongous bodies of the Sinnoh legendaries appeared, looking haughty, and… anxious? "Where is the girl?" Palkia demanded, actually stamping it's… foot? Hoove? On the ground. "I must speak to the girl!"_

_Moltres narrowed its' eyes at Palkia. "Oh, so you call her 'the girl' now? She's Sam."_

"_Sam, Spirit Sage, Girl, it doesn't matter," Dialga said testily, staring them down. "She has brought chaos to our region."_

_The way Dialga said 'Our Region' made it seem as though the region only belonged to Palkia and itself. _

"_Your region is in danger?" Sam retorted angrily, ignoring Jirachi's subtle tugging at her sleeve. "What about mine? And Articuno's, and Moltres', and Zapdos' region? And Jirachi's region! We're _all_ in danger, in case you haven't noticed!"_

_Dialga merely snorted. "Yes, but unlike some others, we are willing to take action."_

"_We are not seeking a war with the humans, Dialga," Zapdos said cooly._

"_Neither are we asking your opinion on it!" Jirachi said, trying to yell… but sounded really, totally, harmless and cute._

"_And besides!" Sam charged on, angered by Dialga and Palkia's apparent ignorance. "It's just one, really big group of humans who are 'bringing chaos to your region', not the entire human race!"_

_Articuno nodded furiously. "I don't understand why we have to go through all of this, you two. If you haven't forgotten, humans are suffering almost as much as the Pokemon."_

"_Do you hear yourselves?" Palkia said, cool voice almost errupting with anger now. "Speaking for the humans?! Like we have pointed out before, you should not just think about that race!"_

"_I didn't ask for this, you know," Sam said coldly, gesturing at her surroundings, but keeping her gaze steady on the two stubborn Sinnoh legendaries. "And I could've given it up. But I didn't, because I love what I'm doing."_

_Palkia snorted. Dialga looked to the side, amused._

"_I'm like an ambassador, do you get it?" Sam contiuned, ignoring the two. "I can help you guys. But only if you want me to!"_

"_But we don't," Dialga said nastily. "Have you ever thought that we could handle this by ourselves?"_

"_Actually, I was under the impression that you wanted help. Why else would you guys be here?" Sam said cooly._

_Palkia looked uncomfortable. "Oh, you know what? Never mind. Never mind any of this. I'm not coming back here."_

_In a swirl of wind, Palkia was gone. Dialga followed soon after, a sneer on its' face._

_Sam sat down on the floor, arms wound tightly around her chest. "I just want to wake up…" she mumbled. "Those two are so… difficult."_

_Articuno flapped down to where she was, and placed its' large head on Sam's cooing softly. "It's okay, Sam… they're part of the job."_

_Sam smiled tightly. "Let's get back to business. So… how do you find two super ancient Pokemon in such a short amount of time?"_

_Moltres smiled. "You're not giving up on this, aren't you?"_

_Sam shook her head, smiling._

"_Alright…these two are probably resting around Sootopoliss, but you can't be sure. Kyogre moves around a lot, and Groudon prefers volcanoes to islands… It's practically impossible to pinpoint them unless they come here…" Zapdos said._

_The purple eyed girl smiled at them, sighing. "Looks like I have to wake up again… and just tell Wallace that we can't find them yet."_

"_Come back in like 30 minutes. If they come back, we'll ask them where they are and tell you when you come back," Jirachi suggested helpfully. Sam nodded, and concentrated. She closed her eyes, with the intention of waking up again in the aircar. _

_She opened them, and was shocked to see Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, and Jirachi looking back at her, confused. _What's going on?

**

Adam was now trying a new tactic, seeing that as battling one-on-one with each Pokemon, he was getting nowhere. "Electabuzz, get up close! Thunder! Now, you, Salamance! Flamethrower Glalie!"

"What?" Gary and James said at the same time.

Gary took action. "Flygon, get in there! Sandstorm!"

Meanwhile, Electabuzz's Thunder and Salamance's Flamethrower were swirling into immediate death for Glalie. But Flygon's Sandstorm made everything confusing. "Flygon, now's your chance! Take out Electabuzz now with an up close Dragon Claw!"

Adam grit his teeth. _Electabuzz can't see through this Sandstorm… neither can Salamance… but Flygon can. Gary thought this out good. _He heard the unmistakable sound of Electabuzz thudding to the floor. The Sandstorm was still raging, but he knew that Electabuzz was out. "Electabuzz, return."

Glalie was temporarily rendered useless, but James had other plans. "Glalie, when this thing clears, I want you to use Ice Beam, a really good one. Ready it now. Aim it at Salamance. Ice-type attacks are superior over Dragon attacks, so you have to make it really good." Glalie smiled impishly at him, understanding.

Gary heard everything James said, so he knew he should at least confuse Salamance for a while. "Flygon, fly in circles around Salamance. Make him think you're everywhere."

Flygon nodded, and disappeared into the Sandstorm.

"We make a great team," James commented to Gary.

Gary laughed. "Better get Glalie ready, at most, Flygon's Sandstorms can last up to five minutes."

James nodded.

They could hear Salamance thrashing around in the Sandstorm, Flygon chortling happily while it flew in circles. Suddenly, the winds ceased, and the battle field was clear. "Glalie, now!"

"Glai!" a minty blue beam shot out at Salamance.

**

"What now, Oh Mighty Leader?" Norman teased Phoebe as they huddled outside Ambers' would-be dungeon.

"We have to go back now. Steven told me that we should help them out once…" Phoebe sniffed the air. "Is that… is that gasoline?"

Tate and Liza nodded. "What's going on?" they asked simultaneously.

_BOOOOOOM…_

**

"Salamance, return!" Adam said bitterly. "Whatever. I have much more…" the ground rocked beneath them. "And never mind that." The evil smile on Adam's face made Gary and James look at each other uneasily.

Maxie cackled softly under his breath. "Phase One is complete…" he muttered.

"What was that, Maxie?" Steven yelled.

"I said, 'Phase One is complete.'" Maxie laughed. "This is _over…_"

"I don't understand!" Winona cried out, diverting her attention from the battle. "Steven, what's he babbling about?"

Suddenly, the wall on the West side of the lair blew up. "Duck and cover!" Misty yelled, covering her head.

Villains and good guys alike ducked under various pieces of furniture, until the shaking stopped.

"What's going on?" Gary, James, Misty, and Steven had found themselves under the same table. The foursome stepped out from underneath the table, to look at the room, which was now littered with pieces of the wall and-or ceiling.

They heard a familiar trill of laughter, but it sounded awful, twisted even.

Wallace's aircar floated in front of the gaping hole, and Wallace himself was standing from the driver's seat, face twisted into an evil grin.

"Wallace? What are you doing here…" Gary's brows creased in the middle of his head, not finishing the question. "Where's Sam?"

"Oh, _I'm _not Wallace…" 'Wallace' cackled evilly, and thre w off the blue wig. "My name's Anthony. I work for Eternity." Everyone could see the obvious similarities in this guy and Wallace, but that wasn't the point.

"Where's the real Wallace?" Steven asked, directing his attention to Maxie.

"Somewhere you don't know!" Maxie smirked. "This was all part of the plan. I knew it sooner or later. You'd rage into here once I got one of your little comrades…" he rolled his eyes, "And imagine that you could possibly let her out." He flashed an evil grin. "But this is the real world, Steven, wherein the good guys don't win all the time."

A door opened, and Norman, Tate, Liza, Phoebe, Amber, Mason and Topaz were shoved in, hands and feet tied. "It's a trick, Steven!" Phoebe cried out, struggling against her captor, a big-boned Magma goon. "It just clicked together… Oh, Arceus, Stevven… we're too late!"

"What are you talking about?" Steven demanded.

"Don't you get it?" Mason said, speaking now. "If the Wallace right there is fake, then what do you think happened to Sam?"

And that's when Gary's world stopped turning.

**

Grrr. I was so mad at my computer this Christmas break. You know, Christmas break is a great time to update stories, like, five times or at least twice a week, but in my case, NO.

WHY does my computer have to break during this time? WHY?!

Anyway, get ready for the next chapter, once again, I will mention that I'm posting about five chapters today. –SMILEY FACE!-

And what happened to the real Wallace anyway? Hmm.

Ja~


	22. Wallace Has A Mission

Wallace, the real Wallace anyway, paced back and forth in his cell. This time we could really call it a cell, not some five-star suite or something. He slammed a fist against the wall. _I was so STUPID, _he thought.

_FLASHBACK!_

"_You are in _no_ position to worry about me, Wallace! It's as if you don't trust me!" Winona yelled at him, eyes watering._

"_Don't yell at me like that, you're just…" _

"_Just what? The Flying type Gym Leader? Just Winona?" Winona threw her hands up in the air._

"_I can't stop worrying about you, Winona…" Wallace tried to explain, hands held out in front of him, palms up. "I care a lot about you, you know that!"_

"_Maybe I don't care! What kind of boyfriend… what kind of boyfriend checks up on me every hour, huh? Aren't you getting a little… oh, I don't know… _clingy_??" _

"_Clingy?!" Wallace looked at her angrily. "You know what? Fine. This is… this never happened. I don't…"_

"_I don't want to be involved with you anymore, is that it?" Winona said calmly. Wallace nodded, eyes fierce. "Fine by me then!" she took of the promise ring and threw it at his face._

Wallace banged his head against the cement wall. _And after that, Team Magma jumped me and I couldn't make a sound. And I never got to say sorry to Winona…_ he sighed. "Winona, I'm sorry…"

"She can't hear you right now."

"I know that… hey, who's there?"

A bright light shone in Wallace's cell, and he saw a middle-aged, but still beautiful woman, with silver hair… and Steven's eyes. "I am Arianne. You know me."

"The old Spirit Sage," Wallace said, nodding. "You look like Steven."

Arianne laughed, her voice tinkling like keys of a piano. "You're not the first one to say that." Then she turned serious, and she sat down in the middle of the floor, looking up at Wallace. "Sam is in terrible danger. My daughter."

"What did they do to her?" Wallace demanded. "What do you know?"

"An imposter, a perfect clone of you, took over your spot after that night at Winona's. And it was also that night when Steven and Phoebe found out how to get inside the Main Lair."

"Oh, no… I can see where this is going."

"From what I heard, you know I can go inside Sam's mind, right? Anyway, she told me that the plan was for you, supposedly the real you, and her were supposed to look for Kyogre and Groudon and protect them from Magma and Aqua's clutches. Steven didn't want her even _near_ the lair, but that backfired." Arianne stared at Wallace, her eyes pleading. "I know one thing. I can't go back to Sam right now, it would be dangerous for her. But if she uses the Spirit Sage power to wake up… then she'll be right where Maxie and the others want her to be. You _have_ to help her, Wallace."

Wallace nodded. "But… but I can't… I can't exactly get out. Look, I don't have any Pokemon with me."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry. You should trust me. Now, the problem is Pokemon? I can help you with that…"

**

"_What's going on?!" Sam shrieked, her voice echoing in the place where the legendaries gathered. "Why can't I wake up?!"_

"_Something's wrong," Articuno said curtly, fearing the worst. "There's no other way you COULDN'T wake up."_

"_What do I do?" Sam whimpered, putting her hands on her face. "This is all a plan of Maxie's, I'm sure of it."_

_Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos and Jirachi were now joined by Manaphy, Ho-oh, Celebi, Lugia, Mew and Mewtwo. Mewtwo, being smart and everything, was trying to find out what happened. "I'm close to Hoenn now," Mewtwo spoke, looking thoughtful. "I could check up on your comrades."_

"_No." Sam's head snapped up so she could glare at Mewtwo effectively. "That's _exactly_ what they want you to do. No one goes near Hoenn today, understand?"_

Mew cuddled up near Sam's side, and she smiled.

"_So what do we do now? Something obviously isn't right. Something went wrong with the plan that Steven Stone made up," Ho-oh said._

"_I think we should just wait," Lugia said, looking doubtful even as it said that. "Maybe this is just a misunderstanding."_

"_It _can't _be a misunderstanding! Why else wouldn't Sam be able to wake up?" Manaphy asked, zooming up to Lugia._

"_Lugia's right…" Sam sighed, looking at each legendary in turn. "It's not like I can do anything else, anyway… we just have to wait."_

**

Maxie smirked at everyone's frozen positions, pleased that they finally figured out his plan. "I switched Wallace with this other the night he fought with Winona," he said, turning his head to the said female, whose eyes were filled with regret, "And it's all thanks to _her_ that Wallace was distracted enough _not to look at his surroundings…_"

Winona glared at Maxie. "Wallace doesn't deserve any of this. The whole entire freaking world doesn't deserve what you have planned for them, you bas-"

One of the Galaxy goons approached her, and pinned her arms behind her back, and covered her mouth with tape.

"Winona!" Phoebe cried out.

"Let me continue…" Maxie said, looking with disgust at Phoebe and Winona, "And we found out that with the plan Steven Stone formulated, we'd have Sam in our clutches."

"Leave her out of this!" Gary yelled at Maxie. "Take me, you can capture me for life, but not Sam!"

Maxie chuckled darkly. "Sam is… special. And you aren't. Can _you_ control any said legendary Pokemon in the world, Oak? Can _you_ become a death weapon? Can _you _threaten the world with the awesome power you have in your mind? _Can you_? If you can, I'd gladly trade Sam for you."

Gary grit his teeth.

"Right now, I've done a whole lot more research than you have. Do you think I'd actually not know that you were sneaking into our computers? It was a set up! The whole entire time… this was just an act, so you'd all end up here in the first place!" Archie continued for Maxie. "That time when Oak snuck into that base… that was _also an act._"

Steven exhaled. _I've failed._

"We've won, right from the minute we had it all figured out, we won." Maxie smirked at all of them. "And our scientists have formulated a poison so dreadful and harmful to Sam that keeps her sleeping until she decides to use her Spirit Sage to wake up. She won't wake up any other way. And Steven Stone knows… that if she does that… she could die."

**

_Click._

Wallace's cell clicked open, but no one noticed. All of the goons of MARGE (ha, ha, ha…) were with Maxie right now, and no one had remembered Wallace. Arianne had called in Jirachi to help out Wallace, and now Wallace had an extremely talkative legendary Pokemon on his team.

"…and Arianne can still call me to help her! She can call anyone of us, you know, but she's kind of like a ghost since she's dead. But she's also kind of material, like you know, human-ish? And she can materialize into people. I think she can take over Sam's body sometimes, did you know that?"

Wallace sighed as Jirachi went _on_ and _on_ about Arianne, and how Moltres was sometimes a real crab, and how Lugia didn't eat fish, and how Sam was doing…

"Wait, back up a little bit. You just saw Sam?"

"Yeah, she's freaking out though, and who wouldn't? She can't wake up, and she has no idea what's going on in here…"

Wallace's mouth was set in a straight line. "Listen to me, Jirachi, okay? We have to stop this right now. I don't know what's going on, but from what I think is happening, we're the only ones that can save Sam." Jirachi nodded, looking unsure. "Right… Uh, I can have a wish, right?"

"Go ahead, wish away!"

"Alright… uhm, I wish I had my aircar."

Jirachi started glowing, and suddenly, there, in Wallace's cell, his aircar appeared. Wallace smiled hugely. "Thanks, Jirachi!" he paused just as he was about to open the door to his aircar. "You're supposed to come with me, aren't you?"

The little Pokemon squealed with happiness and dove into the car. "I call shotgun!"

**

No one noticed the sudden disappearance of Wallace's aircar, and even if anyone did, they wouldn't care. They had given up all hope.

The imposter Wallace, named Anthony, had carried a sleeping Sam out of the aircar five minutes previous. Sam looked peaceful, but when Maxie pulled open one of her eyelids, anyone could see that her eyes were glowing lavender…

**

Wallace floated the aircar towards the main office. Okay, the window outside the main office, and he could see everyone. Now he just needed to catch Steven's eye… who was facing the window, just not looking at the window…

"Jirachi?"

Jirachi, who was slouching in the seat, looked up at him. "Hm?"

"I wish Steven would look up here."

"Right-o… coming up!" Jirachi glowed again, and Steven, down below, suddenly felt a pressure guiding his head up. He inhaled sharply, but when Wallace made the universal 'shh-ing' gesture, Steven understood. And then he saw Wallace holding up a Pokemon with a star shaped head, and a plan formed quickly in his head.

"You realize that you're going to lose eventually, Maxie?"

Maxie, attention diverted from duck-taping Misty's mouth, snorted. "Once Sam is in my hands, we'll be unbeatable."

"But…" And Steven stole a glance at the window. "If someone were to gather all the Gym Leaders, and other possible people who could help, they could surely stop you!"

The Magma leader rolled his eyes. "Aren't you optimistic today?"

"If someone could wish that an antidote to Sam's sleepiness could be produced…"

Wallace understood. Now he was going to save them all.

**

Wallace's first stop was Sootopolis.

The person who took over Wallace's gym, Juan, greeted Wallace with a smile. Wallace, however, remained business-like, and only allowed a small smile and handshake. "This isn't just a visit, Master Juan, I-"

Juan waved a hand in the air, dismissing Wallace's name for him. "No more of this Master stuff, Wallace. You are above me now."

Wallace smiled tightly. "It's time."

The older man's eyes widened as he understood what Wallace was saying. "You're not saying that…"

"I am. And Steven's stuck up there with a lot of other brave people. You have to go to… wait, I'll just download the coordinates into your PokeNav…" Wallace tapped a few buttons on the PokeNav Juan held out for him. "Bring as many trainers as you can, those that can handle this battle." Juan nodded, and placed his hands on Wallace's shoulders.

"I will do the best you can. You, on the other hand, should start getting the others."

Wallace's next stop was in Ever Grande.

"Well, of course we'll be able to help!" Glacia exclaimed, startled that something like this would happen so soon.

"If Steven and Phoebe are in trouble, we're ready to help." Sydney smirked at Wallace. "Besides, we've been _dying _for the big battle."

"You said you needed help, hm?" Drake said, hand on his chin. "Well, maybe I can suggest someone that can help you…"

Lina Markson stepped into the room. "Hey, Uncle Wallace!" she smiled. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Hi, Lina…" Wallace said, remembering Drake's only daughter. "Well you see, I need a lot of help. Could you gather fellow trainers for this battle in…"

==(Now we follow Lina Markson on her journey.) (Remember Lina, anyone?)

Lina thought of the trainers she had met recently that would help 'Uncle' Wallace and 'Uncle' Steven. _Oh, that's right! I registered some trainers, and some really good coordinators in my PokeNav!_ She scrolled down the list, and her eyes immediately found one person starting with the letter 'A'…

_Ash Ketchum!_

--

Our beloved black-haired hero was trudging along a slope in Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn. Brock and Ash, however, were hiking with their hands over their ears.

"_You belong with me!! Have you ever thought just may-beeeeeeeeeeee, you belong with meeeeeeeeeee!!!_" Dawn was screeching at the top of her lungs, listening to her iPod, with green and yellow SkullCandy earphones over her ears.

"Dawn, could you turn it down a little?" Ash begged.

"Pikaaaa…" _Yeah, Dawn, cut us some slack, wouldja? _Pikachu's paws were also plugging its ears too.

Dawn sighed. "Alright, alright! Look, the songs done, okay?"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ohmygosh! I _love_ this song!" Dawn exclaimed five minutes later.

"Oh, no…" Brock sighed.

"_Every night I rush to my bed…_"

Ash shot a disgruntled look at Dawn, who cheerfully ignored him, just as his PokeNav started ringing.

For those of you who are saying there while you're reading this, 'But Ash doesn't have a PokeNav! The author's lying!' well, this _is_ my story. So let's just say that Ash's mom gave him a PokeNav for his birthday. And while we're talking about this sort of stuff, I'm making Ash eighteen. Like Gary. So let's continue with the story, shall we?

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Ash! It's me, Lina!"

"Oh, hi, Lina!" Ash smiled as he remembered the feisty girl he had met back at Ever Grande, the one who was Drake's daughter… or something. "What's up?"

"Well… I kinda ran into Wallace this morning…"

"Right, Beedrill! Let's practice that Poison Sting-Double Team-Agility-Sky zigzag combo I made up for you!" Julia Evergreen, as usual, wearing her yellow and black clothes, directed her infamous Beedrill into one of her contest-winning combos.

"Oh, Ju-liiiiiiaa~!" Julia groaned as Harley came over, in all his Cacturne-costume-wearing-glory.

"Harley! Don't come near me when we're practicing!" she said, gesturing at her and Beedrill.

"Bee!"

Harley pouted, making Julia roll her eyes. "But I thought we could practice together…?"

"No," Julia replied firmly, turning her back on him and directing her attention back on Beedrill.

"Right, Beedrill. From the top!"

_Ring… Ring…_

"Hold that thought, Beedrill, let me just take this," Julia said hurriedly, with a smile. "Julia here!"

"Julia? Yeah, this is Lina…"

"Lina!" Julia's eyebrows creased, wondering what could be wrong with her friend. "Everything okay? Is there anything wrong?"

"Oh, everything's fine… no, wait. No, nothing's fine. Listen, I really need your help…"

Izzy, Aiko Rain, Rosette Shivers, and Brett Shivers were at the Shivers' residence when Rose's PokeNav rang.

"Oh, hi Lina!"

"Rose! It's great to hear you again… listen, are Izzy, Aiko and Brett with you?"

"Like they always are, why?"

"Can you help me out a bit?"

Drew and May, who had separated from Julia and Harvey a few months after that Couples Contest, were on a date that time.

"Have you ever realized that it's all thanks to the fact that Julia and I wanted Sam and Gary to get together that _we _got together?" May asked, snuggling into Drew's chest.

Drew's green eyes twinkled as they stared up at the starry sky. He and May were at the beach, lying down on a beach towel and watching the stars. "Yeah, and I keep thanking you and Julia for that." He winked at her.

"I wonder if Gary and Sam really got together?" May thought aloud.

Just then, the PokeNav that Max gave May for Christmas started ringing. May didn't want to answer; it was cutting into her private time with Drew.

"You should answer, it might be important…" Drew hinted.

"What could be more important than this?" May argued back. Nevertheless, she picked up the PokeNav and looked at the number that was calling. "Oh, it's Lina! You remember her, right?"

"Yeah, we saw her that one time during the contest in Snowpoint. Answer it!" Drew said, mainly out of curiosity.

"Hey, Lina? What's up?"

Drew couldn't hear Lina's reply, but he watched May's face go from relaxed to panicked in a short amount of time. "Right, Lina. We'll be there as soon as we can!"

"Where are we going?" Drew asked as she jumped up from Drew's side, hurriedly putting on her shoes.

"We're just gonna save Sam and Gary, no biggie," she said, sighing.

**(Back to Wallace!)

Gardenia stared at Wallace, as she held a baby Budew in her arms. "It's that time already?"

"Yes, Gardenia. And we really need your help."

"Well, if I'm wanted, I'm always willing to offer service…" she said, gently placing the Budew aside. "Very well, I'll meet you there, along with a few trainers who are training here."

"Good. See you there," Wallace said, jumping into his aircar.

_Okay, so there's only a few more Gym Leaders left, and then I can go back to the base and organize everybody,_ Wallace thought. "A-hem…" Wallace looked at Jirachi, who was apparently bored with Wallace's job, and was playing Solitaire on Wallace's laptop. "When can we go back? I think Arianne's calling us."

"She is?" Wallace said, surprised. "I thought she…"

"I think she rematerialized. She can only do it for a short amount of time, though." Jirachi continued to play, placing the three of hearts in the correct slot.

"Oh," Wallace said. "Hey, you're pretty good at that," he commented.

**

_I hope Wallace understood. I hope he's coming here right now. I hope Jirachi's able to wish up the correct antidote for Sam. If he isn't… _Steven sighed. _This could easily become a lost battle, and it all depends on Wallace and Jirachi. _

He felt a pressure on his shoulder, and he smiled. Phoebe was leaning into his shoulder, still un-gagged, like most of them. She smiled sadly at him. "Everything's going to be okay, Steven…" she whispered. "We're going to get out of here eventually, and Sam's going be a normal girl, with Gary, and everyone's gonna be alright."

Steven smiled. "Thanks, Phoebe."

**

Jirachi was just finishing up his sixth game of Solitaire when Wallace arrived back at the base, surprised with the large group of trainers people managed to get, and surprised out how many Gym Leaders had actually shown up. "Can I walk around now? My butt feels stiff," Jirachi complained.

Wallace rolled his eyes. "You're such a _kid_," he muttered.

Jirachi chose to ignore him, and cheerfully floated out the window. Wallace heard the shocked murmurs at the legendary's appearance, and a few shocked gasps, but after that, it was silent. _Smart people. They know they're in enemy territory._

Wallace stepped out. "Uh, hi." He looked out and saw how many unfamiliar faces were in the crowd. "Those of you who don't know me, I'm Wallace. So…" he continued, "You all know why we're all here. I'm just gonna explain the situation to all of you, and then I'll divide the work up." Wallace inhaled, tired already by his speech. "Inside this base are Steven Stone, Hoenn champion, Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four, Misty, Tate, Liza, Sabrina, Winona," his voice trembled a bit, "Norman, Amber and Topaz Elm, Skye Storne, James Evens, Mason Rider, Gary Oak and Sam Garrett-Stone."

"Did he say, 'Gary Oak'?" Ash whispered to Brock.

Brock nodded. "Misty's in there, too…" he said.

They didn't notice May and Drew, who were right next to them. "My dad's in there!" May said, in a shocked whisper. That's when Brock, Dawn, and Ash turned around to watch them. "Oh, Ash! You're here!"

"Yeah, 'course I am…" Ash smiled.

Julia, who heard May's voice, ran over to her and crushed her in a hug. "May!"

"Oh, hi, Julia!" May said, smiling. "Ash, Brock, Dawn, this is Julia Evergreen. She's a fellow-coordinator; we traveled together for a while." They nodded at each other.

Julia looked at May, her eyes wide. "Did you hear Sam's name? She's in there, too!"

"Seems like a lot of people we know are inside…" Ash said.

"Yeah, I heard Misty's name…" May said. "Julia, you didn't bring-"

"Well, _now_ this is a gathering!" Harley crowed, joining them. He saw Ash and Brock standing off to the side. "Aren't these your friends, May?"

May nodded, sighing. She looked at Julia with a Look. "He _dragged_ himself to come with me! I could've gone alone, but…" Julia glared at Harvey.

As it turned out, it wasn't only this gathering of trainers and coordinators that were murmuring about the people inside.

"Tate! And Liza, too!" two trainers from Mossdeep, about in their mid-twenties, were looking worried.

"Misty…" Max, May's little brother, was somewhere in another crowd, with his own companion, a girl by the name of Katelyn Ross, who had long black hair and blue streaks going through it, with a white shirt with a baby blue Pokeball print going down horizontally on the left side of the shirt, and black leggings.

"You know Misty of the Cerulean Gym?" Katelyn said, amazed.

"It was only once… but we became friends, and she's really nice," Max explained.

Wallace, up front, waited for the murmurs to die down. "Now, I want you all to listen. How many of you have been in a city while it was being raided by Team Magma, Aqua, Rocket, Galaxy, or Eternity?" About three-fourths of the crowd raised their hands. "What's in there is much worse. Every goon each team has ever had is in there, the leaders are in there too, and that's why I gathered up so many of you."

"Our main priority is the girl named Sam Garrett-Stone." Julia, May and Lina, who weren't aware of her powers, were shocked by this. Wallace continued. "I should tell you this, since you should know what you're fighting for." Wallace inhaled. "Sam is… special. She's… she can call on and control any legendary Pokemon with her mind."

He was rewarded with blank stares.

"Jirachi?" he said, looking at the Pokemon who had found his way back onto the boulder Wallace was standing on.

"I'm sleepy," Jirachi complained.

"Live with it," Wallace snapped. "Explain Sam to them."

"But-"

"Jirachi… please cooperate. I'll let you play Solitaire whenever you want to…"

"Yay!" Jirachi smiled hugely. Then the little star-shaped Pokemon turned to the crowd. "Sam's really special. She can talk to us!" Jirachi smiled again. "But Maxie's team wants her to control the Pokemon so that they can control the world. I don't know what they're planning to do to her, but I know that if they do anything to Sam right now, she could die! I don't want that to happen… do you guys want some crazy leader of Team Magma running around our world with the power of Kyogre, Groudon, Mewtwo, Dialga, Palkia, Lugia, and me?"

There were murmurs.

Wallace smiled at Jirachi. "Thanks. Now… I want the Sinnoh Gym Leaders and the Sinnoh Four to step forward." The Sinnoh Gym Leaders stepped forward, with Gardenia in the front. "You guys are taking care of Team Galaxy. The goons, and the leaders. And all of you who brought trainers with you, gather them in." Wallace looked at Jirachi, who was tugging at his sleeve. "Hm?"

"I just thought… you know, I met these _incredible_ trainers… and maybe you'd want them to help you? They're all here! You can guide them. Besides, the Gym Leaders have to be in charge of the other battle. These trainers can be trusted, believe me!"

"Fine. Who are they?"

"I'll call their friends too, is that alright?" Jirachi said, looking at Wallace.

"The more the merrier," Wallace said, starting to fully trust the little Pokemon.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Jirachi said, its cute voice echoing through the air. "Could Max, May, Ash, and Brock come up, please? And bring all your friends!"

Max smiled, knowing that Jirachi still remembered him **(I'm starting to mix up the movie world, the anime world, and the game world together. I'm sorry if you guys are confused, and I KNOW that the Elite four don't exactly show up in the Anime, and that Jirachi only met the gang in the movie, and that Steven died in the Manga… but please, please, please, just PM if you guys are confused with the story's flow…)** and ran forward, pulling Katelyn with him. "Come on, Katelyn…"

May insisted on bringing Drew and Julia with her (begrudgingly including Harley once he started whining) and Brock and Ash turned to Dawn and told her she could come. When they stepped forward, Wallace wasted no time. "Jirachi seems to think that you guys are good. Alright, so you're with me."

"Hoenn Gym Leaders, you guys are in charge of Team Magma. And your trainers, Lina." Lina saluted Wallace and smiled at him. "Johto, Team Aqua. Kanto, Team Rocket. Work hard to defeat them, shut them down, whatever. Just battle your hearts out. _We'll_ be getting the hostages." _Man, that sounds so cool… _Wallace smirked. "Let's do this!"

**

"I can hear people outside…" Topaz murmured to Amber. Amber nodded.

"Me too."

Steven, who had found a sharp nail and had cut his feet loose, stood up. "There are… a lot of people outside," he said, amazed. "Good thing Maxie and all the bosses left us here…"

Gary was in the corner, staring forlornly at Sam.

**

"They should be in there," Wallace said, pointing at a room they could see from the corridor they were sneaking in. "May, you have a Blaziken, right?"

"Yeah…" May said, looking at Wallace. "What do you want him to do?"

"Melt the doorknob, but use as little fire as possible."

May nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard," she said. "Alright, Blaziken." In a flash of red light, Blaziken stood among them, high and mighty. "Concentrate a small jet of flame on the doorknob of that door over there," she said, pointing.

"Blaze."

"Okay," Wallace said, turning to the others. "We're going to go in, and we're going to block the door immediately. Who's carrying an Ice-type Pokemon?" Katelyn rose her hand, and so did Max. "If you mind me asking, what kind of Pokemon?"

"Walrein," Katelyn said.

"Snorunt," Max said, then turned to Ash. "I just _loved_ your Glalie, so I decided to catch a Snorunt!"

"Nice one, Max…" Ash smiled encouragingly.

"Alright, Katelyn, Max. Freeze the door immediately. I don't care what kind of attack, but you have to seal the door good. And do the windows, once you're done." The two young ones nodded. "Any closer to melting the doorknob, May?"

"We're getting there," May said.

"You have to untie everyone, understand? Then Steven will direct us from there." Wallace looked at everyone.

"It's melted!" May cried after ten minutes.

"Go in, now!" Wallace, May, Max, Brock, Katelyn, Dawn and Ash rushed in the door.

"Ice Beam!" Katelyn and Max simultaneously commanded both of their Pokemon. "Now, the windows!" Snorunt and Walrein froze each window shut, and the door, too.

"Misty!!!" Max cried, and launched himself at Misty, to untie her. Unfortunately, she was duck-taped. "Uh… this might hurt a little…"

-RIIIIIIIIIIP-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Misty cried out. "It's… it's great to see you, Max…" She smiled.

Ash, meanwhile, had gone over to Sabrina and Tate. Sabrina had a wry smile on her face as he untied her. "Why is it… that whenever something big happens… you're always in the middle of it?" Ash rolled his eyes, and when he was done with Sabrina, he did Tate.

Brock was taking care of Liza, Amber and Topaz. Wallace had gone directly over to Winona, who was avoiding eye contact with him. He ripped off the ducktape, but instead of screaming, Winona was quiet. "Wallace, I'm so, so, so sorry…" she murmured, looking at him. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Wallace just smiled at her, and kissed her forehead. "Yes, Winona… But you have to forgive me, too."

Steven had gotten himself free by this time (because Steven is just so totally awesome) and was untying Phoebe. May had helped her dad. Brock had also finished with Liza, Amber, and Topaz. Amber and Topaz rushed immediately to Mason and James, and Ash was stuck with Gary.

"Gary… surprised to see you here…" Ash said, trying to make conversation. Gary was quiet. "What's wrong with you?" Ash finished with Gary's feet, and started on his hands. "Gary?"

Misty walked over to Ash. "Maybe you should just be quiet for a while, Ash…" she said gently. "Gary's been through a lot."

"Hmm…" Ash said, obeying Misty. The moment he was done however, Gary moved up with lightning-fast speed to Sam's direction, where Winona, Steven, Phoebe and Wallace were looking at her, concerned.

"Sam? Sam? Sam…" Gary pushed Steven to the side and leaned over Sam, who looked so peaceful… she could be asleep… or dead. "What happened to her, Steven?! What happened?! I don't understand!!!"

"She's in frozen animation. I can't believe the bastards could do something like this," Steven said bitterly.

"Tell me what to do, Steven! I'd… I'd do anything, you _know _that!" Gary yelled at him.

Meanwhile, everybody started whispering behind Gary and the others.

May and Julia were watching Gary, interested. "Looks like they really _did _get together…" Julia said, smiling despite the situation.

Ash was looking at Gary, confused. "That's not Gary."

"What are you talking about, you idiot?" Misty said, rolling her eyes. "That _is _Gary!"

"I've known Gary since we were in diapers, and Gary doesn't act like that, he's just calm about everything…" Ash said slowly. "And he doesn't care about anybody besides himself, but…"

"Oh, nobody's told you?" Amber leaned over into the conversation, her sister right next to her. "Gary _loves_ Sam. And Sam _loves _Gary."

Topaz looked closely at Ash. "Ash… Ketchum?" Ash nodded. "Gary tells us a lot about you. Like how amazingly annoying you are. And how you can't keep your mouth shut. And how you always seem to hurt yourself whenever possible."

Ash sweatdropped. "He said all of that?"

Amber mock-punched Topaz. "Oh, come on, Sis, Gary doesn't _always _talk mean about this guy! He says you're good at battles…"

"And…?" Ash pressed for more.

"Well, that's pretty much it," Topaz smirked.

Ash rolled his eyes at the twins, and looked at Gary, who was panicking now. "She must be pretty special, then."

Meanwhile, Steven was thinking hard.

"I've got it…" Steven said, smiling. "Gary, hold both of her hands." Gary obeyed him immediately, eyes set with worry. "Now think of her and only her… and close your eyes."

"That shouldn't be hard," Phoebe said, holding back a laugh. Gary rolled his eyes, then resumed concentrating.

Steven was suddenly stern. "Wallace, get ready."

"What should I be ready for?"

Then, Gary slumped down, unconscious.

**

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH. The story's almost done, darnit. At least there's a sequel.

Lots of cameos here, huh? Ash, Brock, Dawn, and a whole bunch of other Gym Leaders… and we get to see May, Drew, and Harley again, too. Julia, Brett, Izzy, Aiko, Rosette and Lina make another appearance.

Katelyn Ross is another OC I made up for our little Max. She's mine. (:

Right, so here's the next chapter for ya.

Ja~


	23. And Just When Things Started To Look Up

"_Got any seven's?" Ho-oh asked Lugia sleepily. Lugia shook its head. "You know what, I'm tired of this game already," Ho-oh exclaimed, throwing down the cards._

_The other players, Celebi, Articuno, Zapdos and Lugia, gave other frustrated sighs. "You guys don't have to stay here if you don't want to…" Sam said gently, smiling at them._

_Ho-oh looked horrified. "Oh, Sam… I wasn't implying that I didn't want to be with you. I'm sorry!"_

_Sam grinned impishly. "It's okay. I just… well, you guys can go out… you deserve a chance…"_

_The other legendaries looked at each other sadly. "How long has it been, anyway?" Zapdos asked Celebi, who was always time-conscious._

"_Hm… she's been in here for about five hours…" Celebi yawned. "I'm sleeping now, Sam… that alright with you? I'll come back later," it promised._

"_Sure, it's okay with me…" Sam said._

_Suddenly there was a bright light. "What's… what's going on?" Articuno asked, using its' wings to shield the light from its' eyes._

"_Someone's coming in, but it's not a Pokemon… well, maybe someone I don't know yet…" Lugia said, staring intently at the light._

_Sure enough, it was in the shape of a human… a human _male_… "Gary! What are you doing here?" Sam squealed, when the light had faded. _

_Gary turned to her, relief so clear in his eyes. "Hi, Sam," he said warmly, opening his arms just as Sam came running into them. "Wow… I have to thank Steven when I get back…"_

"_Yeah, that's right! How did you get here, anyway?" Sam asked, finding his hand and holding on to it._

"_Well… Steven told me to hold your hands… and concentrate… and here I am now. There's no other way to explain it," Gary said, shrugging. He put an arm around her shoulder and he smiled. "I'm just glad you're here… and you're okay."_

_Sam smiled._

"_Alright, time for some privacy!" Articuno squawked at all the Pokemon._

"_We're going already, we're going!" Lugia groaned, and disappeared._

"_Yeah, you can stop pecking me to death, Artie…" Zapdos mumbled, and disappeared._

"_Shut your big beak, we're going…" Ho-oh rolled its' eyes and was gone._

_Gary stared as each Pokemon melted away. "So that's what you were talking about. They _do _talk."_

_Sam hit his shoulder. "What did you think, I was crazy?"_

"_You know I'd never think badly about you…" Gary reassured her as he kissed her gently on top of her head. Sam smiled._

_It was times like this that she was happy that Gary was hers._

**

"What's the plan now?" Wallace asked Steven. They were all sitting in a very big circle now, and those unaquainted with the new additions were now comfortable with each other. The arrangement, going clockwise, was: Steven, Phoebe, Tate, Liza, Norman, Sabrina, Misty, Brock, Ash, Dawn, May, Drew, Harley, Julia, Amber, Mason, Skye, James, Topaz, Max, Katelyn, Winona, then Wallace.

Steven shrugged. "Well, first… we have to wait for Gary to come back. I told him he should explain to Sam what was going on and that he should leave, but well…"

"Knowing Gary, he'll be there until we force him out," Amber chuckled.

"That's Gary for you," Ash agreed, laughing.

"Right, and from what Wallace said, there are a ton of people outside, fighting their lives out." Phoebe said, continuing for Steven. "And from what Maxie told us, he's prepared a bunch of Human Sleeping Potions." The others who were there nodded grimly.

"What?!" Wallace exclaimed. He looked at Sam, who was lying down on the side, Gary next to her, their hands still joined. "They're going to do the same thing they did to Sam… to all these people?" he thought for a moment. "And Maxie told you his plan?"

James sighed, and oh-so-casually put an arm around Topaz's shoulder. "Well, what kind of bad guy doesn't tell the good guys his plan?" he smirked.

Topaz rolled her eyes.

"So right now, the plan is that we just charge into the battle, save whoever we can, and defeat the MARGE dudes once and for all?" Skye smiled. "That will be fun."

Phoebe, Steven, and Wallace nodded.

Ash grinned wolfishly. "Right, so everybody, tell me exactly the deal with Gary and Sam."

Misty and May sighed, exasperated. "Guys, he's probably going to tease Gary to death about all of it once he wakes up. They _are_ rivals, in some way." Misty explained. May nodded.

"Which is why… we _should _tell him!" Amber said brightly. Topaz nodded, excited.

"Besides, I know that you, Julia and May, Misty, Ash, Brock and Dawn are curious to know what happened." Topaz looked at each individual, smirking at them.

"I've only met Gary for a short time, but he seems like a really nice guy," Dawn commented, hugging her knees.

"Well, he _is _nice… when he's in the mood," Skye grinned.

"Like you'll never forget the time he punched you flat in the face," Topaz said, grinning.

"I don't blame him," Skye shrugged.

Steven smiled at Ash, who was watching Topaz and Skye go at it. "Ash, Gary's really nice… to my little sister, anyway. He's… sweet."

Ash stared at him, not believing Steven's words.

"You see the… _arrogant_ side of Gary. But if you were Sam, for instance… he'd practically seem like someone sent from heaven, designed exactly for you," Steven expounded more on the subject.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Since when did you get so deep?"

"Since you and I became engaged." He winked at Phoebe.

Amber and Topaz made identical barfing sounds behind their mouths. Steven rolled his eyes.

**

"Roserade! No!" Gardenia gasped as her beloved Roserade, the last Pokemon she had available, collapsed from the exhaustion of battling full-force. The Sinnoh Gym Leader, defeated at the hands of Alex, dropped to her knees.

"Gardenia!" Roark called to her. "Need some help?"

"Isn't that kinda obvious?" Gardenia rolled her eyes.

"Onix! Let's go!"

And on the other side of the battle field…

Falkner and Jasmine were battling their hardest against two leaders of Team Aqua, one, a girl named Pearl, and had long, white-blond hair down to her waist, and the other, a male named Sarge, with black hair and a from his forehead cutting across his right eye.

Flannery was helping out a fellow trainer who was having a hard time defeating a specific goon.

Glacia and Drake were trying to do three battles at the same time, not wanting others to get hurt.

Janine and Koga were poisoning the villain Pokemon in battle.

Brawley and Roxanne were helping injured Pokemon by spraying them with the Potions they brought.

Pryce and Candice were freezing up whoever they found.

It was a very, long and tedious battle.

**

_Sam suddenly froze._

"_Sam? What's wrong?" Gary looked at her, concerned. "Sam?"_

"_You have to go back," Sam stated, her eyes unusually blank. "Go back."_

"_What? I don't understand…"_

"_People are getting in trouble, Gary. You have to go back," she repeated firmly._

_He shook her shoulders; wondering if there was something wrong with her. He prayed nothing was. "Are you okay, Sam? Sam!"_

_In a flash, the Ice legendary bird Pokemon appeared, concern glinting in its' eyes. "What happened?"_

"_She's… she's acting really weird, I don't know what to do!" Gary looked at Articuno, his eyes begging the bird Pokemon to tell him what was wrong._

"_I… I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with her," Articuno said slowly, staring at Sam, studying her._

"_She keeps telling me I have to go back," Gary explained._

_Articuno's eyes flashed for a second, then stared intently at Sam again. "Do what she tells you to do, Gary."_

"_What?! But I can't just leave her here!" Gary protested._

_The look on the Legendary's face was so frightening that even Gary remained quiet. "Do it. There's something… happening. And it would be best if you told Steven Stone about it. Something is about to change."_

_**_

"NO!"

Gary's eyes flew open, and he was already in a sitting position. Steven, hearing Gary, went over to him. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I don't know! But… Articuno… he was… and…" Gary looked as if he couldn't continue.

"Gary, calm down!" Steven ordered him. "Now when you're ready, tell me exactly what happened."

Phoebe, Wallace and Winona came closer.

"Sam's under a… oh, I don't know… it's a trance? I don't know what else to call it. But she was so still, and she had this weird voice…" Gary's eyes were filled with fear. "Even Articuno was scared; and you know…"

Steven looked at Wallace. "Wish for it," Steven said plainly.

Wallace remembered instantly what Steven told him to wish for in the chapter previous, and he called Jirachi. Jirachi, who was playing Solitaire (again) on Wallace's laptop with Max and Katelyn, begrudgingly obeyed and handed the laptop to Max, who continued the game. "What is it?"

"I wish… I wish I had an antidote to cure what Sam's going through. Please, Jirachi?" Wallace pleaded, and the Pokemon started to glow, without any confirmation that the little Pokemon was going to grant his wish the right way.

This glow was brighter than the other glows Jirachi had radiated from him from other wishes, and everyone in the room had to cover their eyes from the glare. When the sudden light had faded, they all looked expectantly at Jirachi.

"Well?" Gary, Topaz, and Amber had asked at the same time, staring at Jirachi.

Jirachi looked surprised. "I… don't know what happened. What's… why didn't it appear?" True to word, there was no little bottle of special potion, no special food for Sam, no bewitched water to sprinkle on her… no signs, at all, of Sam waking up.

If Gary looked down before, it was nothing compared to the look on his face now.

Wallace stared down at Jirachi. "What do you mean you '_don't know what happened'_?" Jirachi shrugged, looking sheepish.

"I've never had this problem before." Jirachi said quietly. "I'm sorry, Gary… I tried, I really tried!" the poor Pokemon sounded on the verge of tears.

"Oh, no…" Gary looked at Jirachi, an unfathomable look on his face. "It's not your fault, Jirachi, sometimes we have problems, right?"

Jirachi nodded glumly.

"So… what do we do now?" Misty asked. "Unless you guys haven't noticed, there's a little puddle of melted ice near the door. We could bust out any time."

Everyone glanced at the door, and it was true. Then they all turned to Steven.

Steven's mouth was set in a grim line, eyebrows creasing. "We should help them."

Gary was about to protest angrily, then thought better of it. _They need help, whether Sam's in trouble or not. It would be stupid to speak out now. _

Ash was looking at Gary, amazement and curiosity on his face. _Has a girl really changed you in this way, Gary? I'm surprised._

Sabrina spoke up. "I agree with Steven. We've seen how many goons there are, the trainers that Wallace brought could be easily outnumbered."

Everyone but Gary nodded. "But what about-"

"I know perfectly well, Gary, what might happen if we leave Sam alone," Steven said, voice low. "But I won't leave her alone. Which is why I'm leaving you and Wallace to watch over her."

Wallace was startled. "You might need me in the battle."

"It's not a 'might', Wallace, I'm positively sure that I'll need you in the battle. But… you know what to do in case… you know."

Steven and Wallace stared at each other, understanding crossing between the two. Wallace nodded. "Fine."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Tate said, eager for battle, his sister also excited.

"Let's go!" Liza smiled hugely.

"Jirachi, you coming?" when Max received no answer, he looked, concerned, at Jirachi. And what he saw frightened him.

Jirachi was staring blankly into space, mouth slightly agape. Jirachi's eyes were glowing lavender, and he showed no signs of… life, actually.

"Steven!" Max cried out, and pointed at Jirachi. Steven glanced for a second at Jirachi.

"Oh, _no_…" Steven said quietly, becoming pale. "Wallace, Sam-!"

Sam's eyes opened, and her eyes were glowing the same way Jirachi's were. She sat up, acting as she was in a trance, and floated, the same way she did before.

"Steven Stone…" Sam and Jirachi spoke simultaneously, with a dark twist to each tone. "What are you doing?"

"Sam," Steven said gently yet urgently, ignoring her question. "Snap out of it, please… my mother-"

"She's _our _mother…" Sam and Jirachi said at the same time. (Okay, this is getting creepy) "Steven Stone… Stop immediately."

"No." Steven stared at his sister and felt utmost pity. _Why her? Why my little sister? _

"Stop this madness…" the voices of Sam and Jirachi sounded sad, and Steven realized that he had been wrong about the meaning of Sam's question. "Stop this madness… I'm not myself, I don't know when I'll become normal again… no matter what I do… you must remember that… your goal today is to stop Maxie."

"Sam…" Topaz, Mason, Amber, Skye, and James looked worried for the girl they had cried over, fought over, and worried over for a _long _time.

Sam and Jirachi turned to the five. "If I am controlled by Maxie… you must stop me. Do you hear me? You _must _stop me." Topaz nodded solemnly, her lips trembling. Sam, and Sam alone, turned to Gary.

The one who was always there for her…

The only person she had trusted her life to…

The one who would protect her to the point of jumping in front of a Mightyena…

The person who had seen her at her best and her worst…

The person who infuriated and annoyed the heck out of her so much…

The one she loved deeply, unconditionally and unendingly.

"Gary…" she said alone, her voice trembling. Gary saw her eyes flash back from their original color to the lavender color about five times. In the times her eyes were in the purple color he loved, he could only see fear.

He hated seeing her like this.

Finally, they settled on the original color, and Gary had, stupidly, thought that everything would be okay. She floated closer to him, and placed her right hand on his cheek. "Don't be afraid to hurt me, Gary…" her voice was no longer intertwined with Jirachi's. "If everything goes wrong, you take care of the others, okay?"

"Stop talking like that, Sam!" Gary said angrily, staring back at her.

Steven and the others were watching the exchange between Gary and Sam. "It's only temporary…" Steven said sadly. "Sam's love for Gary is enough to speak to him… But once the Spirit Sage takes over again… I don't think I know how to stop her."

Sam's eyes closed briefly. "Please, don't make this difficult for me, Gary…" she said quietly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "You know I hate emotions like this. You know I hate crying."

He smiled at her despite the situation, and held the hand that was cupping her cheek. "I know."

She sighed, looking in so much pain that Gary just wanted to wipe all the pain away from her. If he could… he would transfer all her pain to his own mind. "It's… it's taking over again, Gary!" she said, slightly panicking. Gary saw her eyes flash back to lavender momentarily.

Without warning, without any plan to, really… he kissed her. In front of his friends, the gym leaders, her older brother, and the person he considered his own brother (Ash), he leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. Sam's eyes closed.

But in the end, it was her who broke the kiss, eyes fearful again. "No…" her eyes were flashing back to lavender, then back to the original color.

"I love you."

Gary whispered that for her ears alone, and she looked at him sadly.

"I love you." She replied sadly, and then her eyes became lavender.

Permanently.

**

Maxie wasn't taking part in the battle. He had escaped when he had been narrowly defeated by Glacia, who had an icy rage (get it? Oh, never mind…) and was up in his secret room, grinning evilly.

"She's in Spirit Sage mode." He muttered to himself, staring at the monitor in front of him, showing Sam and Jirachi floating over Steven Stone and Company's heads and through the door.

He noted Gary, who was looking as if she had ripped out his heart with her hands and crushed it right in front of his face. _The boy… _Maxie thought, not bitterly, or with friendliness, either.

"Phase two will start now," he decided, and looked to his side, where a stone that looked very much like the red and blue orbs that were on top of Mt. Pyre, was resting on a pillow. Only this one was purple.

_The Spirit Sage in her feels the power of the stone… She will be here soon, and when she comes…_

_The world will be mine._

**

_I've never seen anything as heartbreaking as that, _James thought sadly, watching Sam as she floated by him. She was almost like a little sister to him… It took all of his strength not to reach out and grab her.

Skye had attempted to grab her as she passed, but Steven grabbed Skye's wrist, and shook his head severely. "Don't."

Topaz and Amber couldn't bear the fact that the girl who was almost always there for them was just floating away from them. "Why can't we do anything, Steven?" Amber asked tearfully.

"Because… because we couldn't save her. Even if we tried."

**

"_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!" Sam sobbed, a river of tears pouring out of her eyes. "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!" the other Pokemon, except for Jirachi, looked at her sadly._

"_Oh, Sam…" Moltres leaned her head towards the girl, trying to comfort her._

"_WHY ME?!" Sam screamed, crying all the same. "Why…?"_

_The other legendary Pokemon looked at each other, sympathy expressed in each face. Kyogre and Groudon had been found, and had joined Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, Mew, Mewtwo, Celebi, Manaphy, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune (the last three took an enormous liking to the girl, even though it was just the first time they had met)._

_**Let me just explain something to you readers. The Spirit Sage and Sam are two different people. Souls. Spirits. Whatever. But the Spirit Sage is inside Sam. While the Spirit Sage controls Sam, she can only watch from the inside, without being able to act. The only time when she was the one controlling her body was with the Gary incident. Back to story!**_

"_Oh, honey… don't cry…" Raikou said, his growl sounding fatherly though tough._

"_The look on Gary's face… I'll never forget it. _Never_," Sam said softly, putting her hands on her face. "Oh, Gary…" she whimpered as a fresh wave of tears exploded from her eyes._

_Suicune cuddled up around Sam. "Shhh… it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay…"_

_Mewtwo was looking thoughtful, and whispered something to Articuno. "What happens to the girl if she dies while in Spirit Sage mode?"_

_Articuno didn't meet Mewtwo's gaze. "She disappears. Her body's dead anyway, but her spirit… will be gone."_

_Mewtwo didn't reply, but only looked at the seventeen year-old crying her eyes out. _You are very strong to have made it to this point, Sam. And I am sorry that us Pokemon can't do anything more than comfort you.

"_I'm telling you, San…" Zapdos repeated impatiently, lightning bolts crackling in the air around it. "I'd be more than willing to go down there and electrify the old geezer until he's crispy."_

"_Zapdos, I understand how you're feeling, but I will not allow you to go near Hoenn. Now that I'm in Spirit Sage, I can control any one of you to bend to Maxie's will. How would you like it if I had to control you to use Thunder on Gary and I'd have to watch?" Sam said bitterly._

_Zapdos bowed its head. "You're right, Sam… sorry."_

_Celebi was flying in mini circles around Sam's head. "Oh, how I wish we could help you more, Sammie…"_

"_Me too…" Kyogre agreed._

_Sam's eyes filled again, and she hurriedly wiped them away. "I love you guys._

_**_

"Right." Steven was calm now, after watching his baby sister float away from him just like that… "We have to fight. They need us now, and, I, personally, will _not_ just sit back and watch Maxie get away with doing that to my sister."

Everyone nodded. Gary, who had been silent for the past five to ten minutes, had a smile growing rapidly across his face.

"Now _that_ looks like the old Gary," Ash murmured, turning to Misty. The latter rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.

"Right. So we should battle now, right? No holding back?" Gary said, a familiar glint in his eyes. Topaz smiled.

"That's his old look," she commented to Amber. "The one when he gets so impossibly annoying and impossible to deal with. But heck, it's better than the emo Gary."

Steven nodded, looking at Gary with curiosity. "What's gotten into you, huh?"

Gary shrugged, looking as arrogant as he had been when he first met Sam. "I don't know about you guys, but I'd do _anything _to get Sam back."

"Oh, that's so sweet," May cooed. Drew smiled. _You've grown up, haven't you?_

"Gone are the days when those two would fight until the sun went down," Julia commented.

"Are you guys going to keep on commenting about me behind my back or are we going to save Sam?" Gary asked sarcastically, and disappeared behind the door.

**

DRAMATIC. That was either really cheesy, or dramatic. I don't know which is which now. My heart practically goes out to Sam, the poor dear… ):

I put in a little bit of the old Gary in at the end.

Alright, just if you guys were wondering, I'm going to start posting stories in like little bunches now. I really really really really have a hard time posting my chapters now.

School, love problems and drama, school, the science fair this Tuesday, the debate next week, my ginormous swimming competition this weekend, and a whole bunch of projects that the teachers just loaded on us.

Hey, that reminds me: WHY DO THE TEACHERS HAVE TO GIVE THEIR PROJECTS AT THE SAME TIME? Can't us students get a break? :P

Alright, I might as well stop ranting. Get ready for the next chapter, love you guys.

Ja~


	24. it's Done

"This time, it's going to work," Maxie said almost gleefully. The other leaders were in the meeting room. "I have this somewhat confident feeling that our plan to rule the world and control all the legendary Pokemon we can possibly ever encounter in the world… will actually work."

"Do you have any proof that it would, Maxie?" Bill asked him skeptically. His Pokemon were down for the count, as were Giovanni's and Adam's. Archie was still down there, battling Glacia.

Maxie was silent. "Do you know what I've been doing for the past three years? While others were raiding cities and searching high and low for Sam and others were organizing this plan that keeps us where we are now?" he walked over to a table, a small table that had a white cloth draped over something that was in the center of the table.

"Hm, let me guess." The doors slid open and Archie came in, looking satisfied. He had defeated Glacia, and had slipped away before Drake could do anything about it. "Tanning yourself?"

Maxie glowered at Archie, and ignored him. "Gentlemen, I present to you…" he drew the cloth off with a great flourish. "The-"

"The Lavender Orb," Adam gaped at the impossibly perfect orb, glowing with the lavender that could only be seen in Sam's eyes. "But how-"

"Money can take you places," Maxie said simply. "Due to the looks on your faces, I'm sure that only Adam here knows what I'm talking about."

He was rewarded by blank stares. Maxie sighed. _Of all the evil leaders… it has to be them I'm allied with. _"Let me tell you the story."

"According to legend, the Blue and Reb orbs were created by the gods, and were sealed off in Mt. Pyre, to be protected by the people chosen to protect the orbs. But what you _didn't _know is that there was energy that couldn't fit into either the Blue or the Red orb. The energy combined, and formed into a living spirit – without a body. Also known as the Spirit Sage." A brief smile flashed across Maxie's face. "It was the most powerful being that floated across the world, but people feared it. After generations of generations, they were able to trap it in this very orb."

"So… that's…" Archie left the statement unfinished. Maxie nodded.

"The people had seen the spirits power; they knew it could control the Legendary Pokemon, and because of that, they _feared _it. And they wanted it to disappear forever, so that their lives would be back to the way it was before. So they resolved to destroy it."

Maxie glanced at the other leaders, captivated by the story. "But before it could be destroyed, a mere human got hold of it. A girl by the name of Gwendolyn Isolde. But her name isn't important. What is important, though, is the fact that she absorbed half of the orb's powers." A bitter smile was on his face. "And thus, the cycle of the Spirit Sage began. Gwendolyn had entirely so much power, she could control Legendaries. People craved for her powers, but the only way they could get her powers if she bore a daughter, and that daughter would pass it on to her daughter, and so on and so forth.

"Three generations after Gwendolyn, a war broke out for possession of the stone. The Spirit Sage then, a girl by the name of Dana Gieussepe, was wise enough to drop the stone into the sea… if no one could have it, there would be no war."

A smile, an evil smile, broke out across Maxie's face. "But she was wrong. Now here we are, fighting over the Spirit Sage's power…"

"But why do we have the stone in possession?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you forget that this orb holds a living entity in it?" Maxie asked, his features getting excited. "They spirit in Sam… for centuries, has been looking for its other half…"

"Which is sitting right there, on the table," Archie said. "Nice plan, Maxie."

Maxie nodded, gratefully. "Sam, who is now under the Spirit Sage's control, thanks to the liquid sleeping potion that our evil Wallace injected into her which contained a reactor that triggered the Spirit Sage, is drawn to this orb. She'll be here soon."

"So… if she's powerful now, she'd be extremely powerful if she had the other half," Bill observed.

"Exactly." Maxie grinned, and glanced at the orb which would bring him so much power…

"Whoa!" Flannery covered her eyes as a huge explosion covered her area of the battlefield. She was against an Aqua goon by the name of Reed. He grinned.

"Staryu's Swift is pretty powerful, no?"

Flannery smirked. "Going against my Camerupt's Flamethrower, I'd have to agree with you."

"Reed, need a little help?" another Aqua goon, a female with long, arrow straight silver hair and cat-yellow eyes. She smirked.

"I need more than a little help, Rain," Reed said. "This girl here, just doesn't know when to quit."

Flannery scowled. Two against one? Fire against water? Not looking good. She could always call another Pokemon, but that was the problem. Camerupt was her last Pokemon that hadn't fainted, and she (and Camerupt) was in trouble.

"Let's go, Ludicolo," Rain said cooly, clicking open a Pokeball.

"Flannery."

The red-haired Fire gym leader turned around and saw Norman, who looked exhausted – but determined. "Doing alright?"

"Norman!" Flannery grinned. Her hopes soared. "I'm glad you guys are alright. And… well, I'm not doing alright." She turned towards the two Aqua goons, who looked back at her angrily.

"I can help you with that. Vigoroth, come on out!"

"_Sam?" Celebi whispered. The other, much mature Pokemon were discussing something in the corner._

"_Celebi?" Sam turned towards Celebi, still-wet tear streaks running down her cheeks. She tried smiling, but it just came out plastic looking._

"_I… want to make you feel better," Celebi said, looking sad._

_Sam reached out for the Pokemon and hugged it. "Right now, you're doing the best you can," she assured Celebi._

_The Pokemon shook its' head. "No… I can make you… happier."_

"_How?"_

"_I… I can project your memories from the past… and you could watch them. Like a movie," Celebi said._

"_You could do that? For me?" Sam grinned at Celebi, and Celebi could see that it was a true, genuine smile._

_Celebi nodded. "Do you want me to? Moltres said it might make you hurt more, but I think that if you could remember the happier moments of your life, then, you'd be happy. I don't – we don't like if you're sad, Sam…"_

_She smiled at him. "I want to see those memories, Celebi…"_

_Celebi nodded, and reached out and put both of its' hands on Sam's head, and closed its' eyes. The other Pokemon had finished talking and had come closer._

"_What's Celebi doing?" Manaphy asked, whirling around in all innocence._

"_I think he's doing his memory thing," Articuno said._

"_But I told Celebi not-"_

"_It's okay," Sam said, interrupting Moltres. "I told him he could."_

_Moltres looked at Sam, concerned, but at the same time, relieved that there was something that could possibly keep her mind off of sadness for a while. "If you say so…"_

_Celebi removed his hands from Sam's head, and smiled. "You have really nice memories, Sam…"_

"_Can you…?" Sam left the question unfinished, as Celebi nodded. Celebi threw his hands out, and a little light showed, where a little Sam was shown, sitting on a grassy lawn. She looked to be about three years old…_

"Gwowlithe? Gwowlithe awe you thewe?" Sam toddled out of the house, her black hair in cute pigtails at the top of her head. Her eyes were _huge_, and she had the cheeks that only a baby could have.

A tiny, miniscule Growlithe bounded out from the backyard, and ran at full speed towards baby Sam, and tackled her to the ground. Sam giggled cutely. "Gwowlithe, you'we so stwong!" she cooed, petting Growlithe on the head as Growlithe barked, pinning her to the ground with his front paws.

"_Growlithe…" Sam said quietly, smiling. Growlithe had grown to be the Arcanine who had knocked down Gary… that day when they first met._

_Articuno and the other Pokemon were laughing. "She sounds so cute!" Zapdos chortled._

Growlithe tilted his head up to the sky, and breathed out a little fire; just a little spark. Sam's mouth opened in wonder at the fire that Growlithe was making. "Ooh, Gwowlithe, it's sooo pwetty…"

The door opened and Sam's 'mother' came out, wiping her hands on an apron. "Samantha! Growlithe!"

The two looked guiltily at Daniela. Mom had a rule: No playing with fire. Growlithe's ears drooped a bit. "What did I tell you about playing with fire?"

Sam bowed her head a little guiltily as she stood up, after nudging Grwolithe to get off of her. "That me and Gwowlithe should not pway with fiwe (fire), because it's dangewous." Daniela's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter and picked her up, smiling.

"At least you know that, Sam… now do you wanna help me make a cake for dad for a little present after he comes back?"

"Yeah!" Sam grinned and wrapped her arms around Daniela's neck. "Thanks you, mommy, I wove you…"

Daniela smiled at her daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "I 'wove' you too, Sam…" she said.

"_I miss my Growlithe," Sam said aloud. The clip had stopped playing, and Celebi was getting ready to play the next one. "And my foster mom. They were great to me."_

"_It's great to know that you had a nice time when you were a child… or should I say, 'gweat'?" Articuno teased._

_Sam rolled her eyes, but laughed. "Doesn't everyone like, do that when they're kids or something?"_

"Swellow!" Sam called out, waving her hands out in the air as she stood in the same front yard she had been standing in the previous memory. She looked about twelve now, and her hair had been cut ridiculously short, in a boy style. A Swellow swooped down from the sky. Sam smiled at it, and ran her hand from Swellow's great head down to its' wings. "Ready to fly to Verdanturf? Grandmama said that she got a lot of Pokemon to take care of!" her eyes shone brightly. "And I'm hoping that Flaafy's owner didn't pick him up yet, I still have to groom it a bit more to make it perfectly fluffy."

Swellow nodded, and allowed Sam to climb onto its' back. They flew for a while, and landed in the day care center some time later. Sam ran into the arms of her grandparents, who were waiting outside the door when she came. "Hi Grandmama! Hi Grandpa!"

"Hi, Sam…" her grandmother said, smiling. "Flaafy's been waiting for you, you know. His owner's picking him up later in the afternoon, and I think you've been wanting to brush him."

Sam grinned hugely. "I'd love to!"

"And your little friend, Roselia, has started to eat now. Talking to her last time you were here started to help her adjust to her surroundings," her grandfather said, as he lead her inside.

"_You really, really, love Pokemon, Sam, don't you?" Lugia said, watching Sam's expression._

"_Yeah… I grew up with them. They were my friends," Sam said, a gentleness entering her eyes._

"_Sam?" Celebi said. "The next memories I'm gonna show you… they're about Gary. You can… you can skip them, if you want-" but Sam was already shaking her head._

"_I want to see them," Sam said, smiling. "All of the memories I have of Gary." She turned to the others. "If I start crying, don't… don't say anything, okay? Sometimes it's better if you just keep on crying, so there are no more tears left."_

_The legendaries smiled at her wisdom, and nodded. Celebi started playing the first clip._

"Hey, Prof! Gramps wanted me to give you something!" a boy with brownish hair came in to Professor Birch's lab, wearing a purple long sleeved shirt, an Umbreon following him. He carried a package in his hands, and handed it to Professor Birch.

"Hello, Gary. Oh, this must be the new High-tech Pokedex." The Prof grinned as he unwrapped it, revealing a shiny red thing which looked like a gameboy. "Hold on a bit, Gary. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Sam's face turned into a comcial shocked face, as Gary came closer. "Hm?" he turned around, raising his eyebrow at me. Umbreon looked at the girl in front of him curiously, and lazily closed its eyes as it slumped to the floor in a deep slumber.

"Gary, this is Sam Garret. She's a new trainer, even though she's one year younger than you." Prof turned to Sam, smiling. "Sam, this is Gary Oak, grandson of Professor Oak."

"Hey." He gave her a little half-smirk. "Nice to meet you."

Sam smiled in return. "Nice to meet you too."

"_The first time I met him…" Sam whispered. The Pokemon were silent._

"Sam, you're just starting your Pokemon journey, correct?" Sam nodded at Professor Birch's question.. "And Gary, according to your grandfather, you're just starting in Hoenn?" Gary nodded. "Professor Oak wants you, Sam, to accompany Gary, since the loss of his cheerleaders takes away his self-confidence." Gary turned red with embarassment and fury. "What? I'm just reading the note."

"There is no way, in this pure world, that I am going to travel with him." Sam scowled, and glared scathignly at Gary.

"Too bad, purple." Gary said sullenly. "When Gramps wants something, it's done. No questions asked. Even if it IS against my will." He said, shooting a look in her direction.

"Come on, you two. This is just a small journey –"

"Which will take months on end." Sam snapped.

Gary sighed. "I'll go. But I swear, I'm only doing this out of _pity._" He said, kneeling down on the ground to wake Umbreon.

_Sam laughed, with a far-off look in her eyes. "I forgot we used to fight like that…"_

"_You know how to fight, Sam!" Zapdos crowed._

Gary glared at Sam, his impatience reaching his the peak. "Just shut up, nuisance."

"Idiot."

"Brat."

"Dunce."

"Wannabe."

"Arrogant bastard." Gary and Sam stared each other down. Underneath them, Treecko and Umbreon rolled their eyes. "You are being SO impossible right now, OAK."

"I would've left you YESTERDAY if I had the chance."

"Then leave!"

"You know I can't do that."

"Do. It."

_She winced, remembering their… "First fight," she tsked, and kept her eyes on the screen. "Not a good memory, but significant."_

"_You miss him," Raikou said plainly._

"_I miss him," Sam said, smiling. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me."_

Sam was sitting in the canteen of the Pokemon Center in Petalburg, when a small package wrapped in purple crepe paper was tossed on the table in front of her. She looked up in surprise to see Gary's retreating back. A small smile was creeping across her face and she called after him, "I thought I told you I didn't want anything?"

Gary stopped, shrugged, and went out of the canteen. "It matched your eyes." He said, almost in a careless voice, from the hallway.

Sam blushed a bit.She then turned her attention to the small package. She carefully untapped it, and rose her eyebrows when she saw a little box, almost like a ring box. She opened it, and there were two hair clips, with assorted purple gemstones. One was personalized with her name, and the other was in form of a heart. She blushed as she fingered the heart…

_She felt Manaphy (who was sitting on her head) touch the clips on her head. "They're really pretty!" _

"_Thanks, Manaphy…" Sam smiled. "Gary had a really good eye that time. He really cared, even then…" she choked up. "I really hope he's okay."_

"_Do you want to see the next memory?" Celebi asked. "It might make you cry, but it's a really… a really happy memory, I promise!"_

"_Okay, Celebi," Sam said, despite everyone else's protests. "On one condition." The Pokemon quieted down, and listened to her. "Don't talk to me, or comfort me, when I cry." They nodded in silent agreement._

"_Right… let's start!" Celebi said._

"Gary?" Sam remembered something that Arianne had told her, about the one she trusted. So she told him about that. "Are you okay with that?"

"Sure I am!" Gary said quietly. "But… be careful. Please, just don't use your powers recklessly or-"

"I'd _never_ do something like that!" Sam said sharply. "Honestly, Gary… be happy for me for once!"

"I am, but…"

"Understand me! I… I really am going to be careful, Gary! Why aren't you… why aren't you…"

"I CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT YOU!" Gary yelled. "I CARE _A LOT_, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU HURT!"

Sam was quiet. "Gary, I-"

Gary leaned close to her. "Sam." Then he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

_Sam stared quietly as she and Gary kissed. "First kiss," she said hoarsely. She hugged her knees, and as her shoulders shook, they knew she was crying_

_It took a lot of willpower for each of them, not to comfort her while she sat there, crying her eyes out._

Sam, in her Spirit Sage mode, floated about half a foot off the ground, Jirachi at her shoulder. They were silent as they reached a specific door. A quick smile flashed across her face, illuminating her features. "We're here…"

The door slammed open, her doing, and she wasn't surprised to see the leaders of MARGE staring back at her, calmly. "Where is it?" Sam said, her voice reverberating around the room, joined with Jirachi's.

"It's on the table, if you want it," Maxie said. "But I believe we have to compromise."

"Compromise for what?" the eyes that glowed lavender narrowed into slits. "You all know who has the more power here. Me."

"The thing is, we have the thing you want. The Lavender Orb is on this table – which has a trap door under it… if you don't comply to our demands… bye-bye, source of your full powers and your other half."

She was silent. "Talk."

Maxie grinned, triumphant. "We want you to control the Legendaries… so we can rule the world."

"That's it?" her voice, and Jirachi's, sounded uncompasionate. "That's all I need to do to get the orb?"

"Yes." It was Archie's turn now. "And – you get to pull the strings."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Any person – any person you want to be alive, stays alive. Anything you want, you get." Archie smirked. "You deserve star treatment."

Sam was not amused. Her eyes glowed even brighter. "So you think you can bribe me to bend to your will, hm?"

Maxie winced. They had obviously hit the wrong mark. "We are simply offering you… a compromise for your hard work."

"Pretty stupid, if you ask me. If the girl was the one controlling this body, what it says, and what it feels, you know she'd pick her friends, Skye Storne, the Elms, James Evens, Mason Rider, Steven Stone, possibly Phoebe, and most definitely her boyfriend, Gary Oak, all of whom are on your hit list." She sneered, and Maxie had to give regard for the Spirit Sage; it was intelligent and mean, when you thought of it.

"But if you were to choose…?"

The eyes narrowed once more, and she sneered. "No one."

_Sam was still crying. She had just replayed the moment where she met Gary after all that time… and she missed him even more. The Pokemon were about to tell Celebi to stop filming, but they remembered what Sam told them._

"_I love him so much," she said softly. "More than myself." Her eyes filled with tears again, and they dripped down her face. "He's always been there for me… even when I pushed him away… when I needed him… he always knew when I needed him. He loves me, like I love him… I don't want him to suffer because of me!"_

_Entei walked over to where she was, and curled around her. Celebi swooped down to dive into her arms, while Manaphy stayed comfortably on her head. "Thank… thanks…" she choked out. _

"Blaziken! Flamethrower!"

"Roserade, Petal Dance, finish off with Razor Leaf!"

Drew and May directed their two favorite Pokemon to battle against two Galazy goons. In a flash, the two rival Pokemon fainted, and, sneering, the two goons fled from the battle arena. Drew grinned at May, and put his hand on her shoulder. "You were great."

"Like you."

"A perfect score of one hundred. Your form was perfect."

May laughed. "I'm glad we beat them."

"There's just one problem…" May saw her dad behind them, and she was confused.

"What?"

"We seem to have won. But it couldn't be… that easy."

"Agreed," Steven said. No goons were left in the room, and no one could see any other opponent in sight. "There's something wrong."

"Steven, Norman?" they whipped around to see Amber. "Have you seen Gary? I mean, we were battling and I saw him out of the corner of my eyes, so he was actually here… but he's not here anymore. And we've been trying the doors, but they don't open… burn… break… or anything. I think we're trapped."

Everyone looked in the general direction of the entrance doors, where everyone near was trying out an attack of any type at the door. Nothing was working.

"Who has seen Gary?" Wallace asked the room in general.

"We were double battling earlier," Ash replied, after his Pikachu tried Thunder on the door. "I didn't see him after our battle though, he looked like he was in a hurry or something."

"So, have you made up your mind?" Maxie pressed Sam (spirit Sage) as she sat down, clearly considering and reconsidering the offer.

She was quiet, and she came to her conclusion. "I am a living being."

"We aren't questioning that-"

Sam (and Jirachi) held up a hand, interrupting Giovanni. "I care about this world. Even if I was deprived of my half because of the people inhabiting the world, I am _not _going to ruin the place where they live in because of my selfish decision."

The five gaped at her. Maxie recovered first, and his first reaction was – surprise, surprise – anger. "You… you think you can just… _reject _us like that?!"

"Yes," she said coldly, her eyes flashing. "You are _not _in the position to talk to me that way, nor are you in the position to think that what I am doing is wrong." She stood up, Jirachi following. "I think I'll return to this poor girl's friends. I've ruined her life enough."

There was silence, and then Maxie charged her.

"AH!" Sam cried out as Maxie pressed her against the wall, a manaical expression on his face. He gripped her shoulders, and shook her.

"I have been planning this for decades!" he howled, shaking her even harder. "I have everything placed right where they were supposed to be, I kidnapped the right people, everything was PERFECT!"

Her eyes were cold even as Maxie continued to squeeze her shoulders. "And did you actually think that I was someone who succumbed to power? I'm not that low."

Maxie growled, and threw her against the floor, she gasped in pain, and felt the snapping of her wrist. Just then, the door burst open, and Gary Oak stood there, panting from exhaustion. But there was no denying the fury in his eyes, and Maxie stepped back. "Swampert." The voice was a growl, and Maxie scowled. "Let's do it."

Gary's huge Swampert appeared, looking mean. "Hydro Pump."

Jirachi, who had floated nearer to its' master, was still staring blankly at Gary as Swampert Hydro Pump-ed the office. "Come on." Gary was next to her in a flash, holding out a hand.

"Why…?" she asked, her voice deadpan as ever.

"Because I can't lose her," Gary said, holding out his hand. "No matter what, she's getting out with me… I won't lose her."

As she reached out, Maxie appeared, drenched and furious. "No! Not when I'm this _close_!" he pushed Gary out of the way, and turned to Sam, a fierce expression on his face. "We're going to talk. And we're going to talk like big, mature adults."

"_No!" Sam screamed; she could see everything that was happening, through her own eyes. "No!" she repeated, as Maxie leered over her._

"_Sam, calm down," Moltres said, alarmed. Moltres had never seen Sam this… emotional. Even when she found out she was drugged and couldn't wake up._

"_I won't calm down!" Sam screeched, standing up. "This… all of this has to stop… it has to stop _NOW_!!!" _

"_You can't do anything now, please, just don't do anything that could harm yourself," Entei cautioned her, Raikou nodding._

"_Please, Sam," Celebi pleaded, floating over to her. Sam turned to Celebi, and to Celebi's horror, Sam's eyes were glowing lavender. "SAM!"_

"_Oh, no!" Lugia was trembling. The King of the Sea, trembling? He was, but with good reason. "Someone, get her to her senses before she-"_

"_This ends now!" Sam yelled, and there was a bright flash of light._

Maxie had Bill and Giovanni Hold both of her hands, while Archie and Adam watched over Gary. "You _will_ use your powers for evil."

"N…No…"

"_You will use your powers for evil."_

"No," she snapped. Suddenly, she gasped, as if all the air had gone out of her. "N…No…"

"What's going on? Why are you in pain?" Maxie demanded. He turned to Archie and Adam. "Did the boy do anything? Did Jirachi do anything?"

"Nothing, Maxie," Adam replied, bewildered. "They weren't moving."

The door slammed open, and Wallace, Winona, Steven, Phoebe, the twins, Mason, Skye and James burst in. "MAXIE!" Steven bellowed. "Where is she?!"

Sam collapsed onto her knees, eyes closed in pain; her whole body shaking. "What's wrong with her!?" Amber and Topaz asked at the same time, terrified.

"Nnngh…" Jirachi was suffering too. Then they noticed something – his voice wasn't joined with Sam's anymore… but why… "S-Sam!" Jirachi cried out.

"Let her go!" Steven said with such a terrifying expression that Giovanni and Bill let go immediately.

As they let go of her hands, Sam shuddered, and one hand went to her forehead. She gasped again, her eyes flew open; glowing a bright, bright lavender.

Gary stared blankly at Sam, not being able to do anything. _She… can't be… she can't be… she's not dying… she's not going to die… _he felt one hand on each of his shoulders, strong and steady hands. One belonged to Mason, the other, to Skye.

"We're here for you, Gary," James said encouragingly.

Topaz nodded, from James' right. "She's going to be alright," she tried convincing Gary, but what she said didn't really reach her eyes.

_Inside her mind, everything was going wrong. Sam was still standing, but her whole body was glowing purple, her eyes glowing even brighter than the rest of he. She was – although no one knew that – in the same position that her body was in right that moment. Articuno tensed, knowing that something was terribly wrong. "Everyone, get to Hoenn – now. We have to get there right this instant!"_

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Sam let out a scream, her eyes closing again. Then, there was a bright light… everyone closed their eyes, and when they could open them again, they were terrified to see Sam's whole body glowing a deep purple, her eyes glowing so bright, they were almost white.

"Ste… Steven!" Phoebe clutched Steven's arm. "What's going on?"

He was staring blankly at Sam. "Everything I've tried so hard to stop…" he bowed his head. "Everything I've done for her… I've failed her…"

Phoebe was silent. "Then…"

"She's trying to take over the Spirit Sage…" Steven said, in a dead voice, watching as Sam threw out her hands. Jirachi went immediately to her side, eyes glowing purple, expression non-existent.

Amber heard. "Don't tell me… this is what everyone was trying to prevent? Not… not her death?"

"This is it. Only a miracle…" Steven said helplessly.

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

Everyone winced at the high pitched sound… it was… it sounded like a bird.

_ROOOOOAAAR!_

There was an explosion in the north of the office, and the entire wall crumbled. Everyone gasped – staring at the leering face of the green Legendary Pokemon… Rayquaza.

"Rayq!" it roared, and everyone stepped back immediately. Maxie, and the other leaders were standing, warily, and yet scared at the same time. Sam turned, calmly, to Rayquaza, and started walking towards the blown-up wall. "RAYQ!"

Sam (Jirachi at her side) was now at the huge opening, and she walked out, (still glowing) dropping out into space.

"NO!" Gary yelled.

Rayquaza suddenly disappeared and reappeared, this time, Sam and Jirachi on his head, Sam with a terrifying expression on her face. Everyone rushed immediately to the wall, to see what was going on. Gary was at the front, and was awed, yet horrified, at what he saw.

Below them, he could see the goons, the trainers and leaders, crowding outside to see what was going on outside, too. But most of them were gaping at the Pokemon in front of them. There was a large gap from where everyone was standing from the ocean, where the following Pokemon stood.

Entei was in the center, walking back and forth, as if daring anyone to step closer. To his right was Raikou, electricity sparking around him, a fierce expression on him. On Entei's left, Suicune was calmly staring back at the others, tails swishing behind her. Deoxys was also standing on the ground, staring back meanly at anyone who was staring at was doing little twirls in the air, somewhere right over Suicune's head.

_ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!! _Everyone turned to the sound of the roar, and directed their attention to the nearest island. Right in front of everybody's eyes, a bridge – sort of thing rose from the ocean, as a bridge from that island to the shoreline. A large, red mass started walking towards them, and everyone gasped.

"_It's Groudon._"

While Groudon was making his way towards the land, someone noticed a huge whirlpool forming in the sea, and that same person cried out. Menacingly, Kyogre's huge head poked out from the whirlpool, and watched everyone.

In the sky, there was, of course, Sam and Jirachi, riding on Rayquaza. On Rayquaza's right, Articuno was flapping his wings soundlessly, staring coolly at the people watching him in the office. On Rayquaza's right, Moltres flapped her wings dangerously fast, the flames and the heat starting to get closer to them. Next to Moltres, Zapdos screeched, and electricity crackling from its' wings. Ho-oh was hovering next to Articuno, expression mean.

Directly below Rayquaza, but still in the air, was the magestic Lugia. Next to him was Mewtwo, and on his other side, Latios and Latias. Manaphy and Celebi were floating in circles above Rayquaza. There was a deep voice, one they all thought was Mewtwo's.

"_You have done an awful thing." _Mewtwo gestured with his hand towards the office, and everyone knew that he was talking to Maxie. "_Trying to use the innocence of this sweet little girl to you advantage? I've seen no one lower than you, Maxie of team Magma."_

"Who doesn't want to rule the world?" Maxie asked rhetorically.

"_The Spirit Sage is not a thing you toy with. It is not just a legend you think you can fool," _Mewtwo sounded like he was growling. _"It is the spirit residing in a seventeen-year-old girl who is too young to be pressured with this kind of problem and who is in love with the person who is special to her heart. Now… she is unstable. And I don't know if we can get her back."_

Gary collapsed to his knees. "Sam…" he whispered.

Suddenly Sam rose her hands in the air, her eyes bright. "Legendary Pokemon! Obey me and do what is right!" Gary knew, with relief, that that was her voice, not a weird rendition of it. But the glowing thing still bothered him so much.

Suddenly, all at once, the Legendary Pokemon stiffened, and their eyes started glowing.

Sam pointed one hand towards the ground. "Raikou, Deoxys, Mew, Entei, Suicune, Groudon, take everyone to safety, to that island over there! Do it as quick as possible!"

On the ground, Entei barked at everyone. He saw some kid trainers, and gave them a little smile, and let them ride on his back as he bounded off, while Raikou and Suicune did the same, directing the crowd towards the bridge that Groudon created. Mew and Deoxys were teleporting people back and forth, sometimes at groups at a time. Sam watched them from above, satisfied, then she turned to her allies in the sky. "Articuno, get James and Topaz, Zapdos, Mason and Amber, Ho-oh, Skye, Lugia, Steven and Phoebe, Moltres, Wallace and Winona." She looked at Gary, and through her lavender-white glowing eyes, he could see the love she had for him. "Rayquaza, let's pick up Gary."

Rayquaza floated over to the window, and bowed his head, so that Gary could get on. He did, and when he did, he rushed over to Sam. "Sam… Are you okay?" he asked her breathlessly, reaching out a hand to cup her face.

"No…" she said sadly. "You can see that. I won't be the same anymore Gary…" she laughed a bit. "I'm kinda overdosed on the glow-stick syndrome."

"The glow stick syndrome," Gary smirked. "I'm gonna remember that one."

She looked a bit sad, and asked him, "But will you remember me?"

Gary smiled at her. "No."

"Huh?!"

"I won't remember you… because you'll still be here… I won't have to remember you… you'll still be here, right?" he looked like a little kid again, begging his mom to promise him that she was coming back after a long trip.

"Oh, Gary…" she said quietly, face crumpling. "I won't… I know that."

"How can you _know_? No one just _knows _that they're not gonna be on the planet anymore! You…" he struggled with words. "Sam, you make me… _me._ I can be anyone when I'm with you; you can't just…"

She stepped forward and hugged him tight, her arms around his waist. "You're going to let go of me, okay? You're going to be yourself with someone else; not me. I want you to be happy." She looked up at him, with a new look on her. "And under no circumstances are you going to commit suicide when I'm not here anymore, okay?"

He sighed. "Let's just get this going already," he smiled at her, not happy, but at least relieved that he was with her again. He loved every moment with Sam…

Even if there was a possibility that this would be their last moment together.

"_Everyone gone?_" Entei asked Raikou. (No one could understand them, so I'm just providing a translation)

"_I got everyone. Including the pathetic goons,_" Raikou answered. "_Even if they don't deserve it._"

"_Sam thinks that they deserve it,_" Suicune reminded them in a gentle tone. "_Besides. The only ones who did any real harm are the leaders… and I can see that Sam didn't exactly let them off the building._"

"_Do you think she's gonna… you know..._" Entei didn't want to say the word 'die'.

"_There's a possibility…_" Suicune said, sad. "_I don't want her to."_

"_No one does,_" Mewtwo remined them, as he floated closer. "_But just controlling us to do her every whim… that's a lot of stress. She can't possibly…"_

"_No more of that talk,_" Deoxys reprimanded them, as it returned from the island. "_She's a strong girl, I'm sure she can make it through this…_"

Sam turned away from Gary, and fixed her gaze on the five leaders of MARGE. "I don't plan on forgiving you. If my Spirit was as human as you thought it would be, then we would be in a lot of trouble right now," she said angrily. Everyone could sense her anger, and the purple glow seemed to be a kind of aura, which was showing how angry she really was. "Do you or do you not agree with me?"

They were silent.

"Mewtwo," she called. Mewtwo came up to her, eyes glowing dully, and she pointed at the leaders. "Psychic. I want you to make them as uncomfortable as possible," she hissed. Mewtwo nodded once, and at once, the leaders started floating, a bluish glow around them, coming from Mewtwo's attack.

"Nngh…" Giovanni struggled.

Mewtwo stared at his former master, Giovanni, disgusted, and said, "I see you haven't changed."

"I… see you have, on the other hand," Giovanni said cruelly.

"Right." Sam looked satisfied, and looked around her at the buildings that was the MARGE headquarters. She was fuming with an anger she had never felt before; and she knew what she had to do. "I want my friends…" she said, smiling warmly. "To hold on tight. This is gonna be one heck of a ride."

"Sam…" Amber said quietly, staring up at her friend.

Skye was silent, looking at the girl he had betrayed once upon a time, and found a new friend in her. Mason was, too, and smiled absentmindedly, remembering the times they had together. James and Topaz, the first ones to look at her after three years, hoped that this wouldn't be the last time they'd see her.

"My sister…" Steven said quietly. Phoebe hugged him tightly around the waist, feeling utmost sadness.

Wallace and Winona sadly looked at Sam. Words could not explain how everyone was feeling.

Gary, right at her side, closed his eyes, turned her around, and kissed her.

Again, for both of them, it was as if the world had stopped turning… Sam was remembering every moment she had with Gary…

_I like your eyes. They're weird._

_C'mon. I have to take care of you._

_The things I would do for you, Sam… just so I won't lose you…_

_You're the most important person to me… you give me life, you showed me that… well, Pokemon can't open cans on their own, you… brought out the best in me. Please… please… don't let yourself get into situations like that again, Sam… I don't know what I'd do…_

_I CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT YOU! I CARE A LOT, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU HURT!_

_I love you… I love you… I love you. I can finally say that now, and you can hear me._

Tears started to drip down her face, but she just held on tighter to Gary. Gary, meanwhile…

_At least I'm not wearing a gay shirt!_

_You… you're jealous! You're jealous, aren't you!_

_I love you…_

He winced. He'd never fogret her. Her smile. Her laugh. Her eyes, the way they sparkled when she was in a battle, the way they turned cold when she was annoyed, and the way they just seemed to make him melt whenever she happened to be looking at him. The way she kissed him. The way she got so annoyed at him before they loved each other. Her hair. Her spirit.

Sam let go of him, and she was now, openly crying, the tear marks trailing down her face clear. "I love you," she said, staring up at him.

"I love you, too," he said, his heart aching.

Sam went to hug him again even tighter. She'd never forget him. The way he laughed. How he battled. His smirk. His smile, which always seemed to make her melt – when it was genuine. The way he cared for her among all else. The way he was so overprotective of her. His hair, the way it spiked up just perfectly. The way he spoke to her. The times he when he was being an idiot who cared only for himself. She loved him, every bit, every flaw, every fact of him. She smiled. "Time for me to do my business," she said, smiling at him.

"That's what you do best." He smiled, and took her hand and squeezed it.

"Moltres!" Sam commanded. "Overheat! At those buildings!"

Maxie shouted (although it sounded kind of like a whimper, now) "It took YEARS to put those up!"

Sam stared back at him with a terrifying expression. "And it will take me MINUTES to put them down," she said.

"Articuno!" Articuno zoomed over towards her, James and Topaz still riding. "The most destructive Ice Beam you can offer! Those buildings, okay?"

"Zapdos! Give them a Thunder I'm sure they'll remember!" Zapdos complied immediately, his passengers starting to look a little worried.

When the three legendary bird Pokemon were finished, she looked at all the Pokemon. "We can do this. We can put all of what these awful people did down. Are you ready?" suddenly, as if remembering something, she shook her head. "Ho-oh, come here."

Ho-oh glided over to her, rainbow in sight, and she petted its' head. "Skye… thanks," she said, looking at Ho-oh's rider. "For everything."

"It was a pleasure," he said softly, his grey eyes softening. "You're the greatest."

She smiled at him. "Ho-oh… you need a new passenger." Gary realized what she was talking about.

"No! I'm riding this out with you!" he yelled, but she shook her head.

"No…" she said quietly. He stared at her, and a moment of understanding passed between them. Before he got off of Rayquaza's head, though, he smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her one last time.

But this kiss wasn't like before; it was short, sweet, and to the point: I love you.

"My heart is yours," he said, acting out of character. "It always will be."

"Yeah," she said, grinning despite the situation. "I'll only have your heart… if you take care of mine."

He was silent, and looked into her eyes. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Sam nodded, her eyes filling up again. "I love you!"

"I know you do," he said, smirking. "You know that I love you too, you know." He leaped off Rayquaza's head and onto Ho-oh's back, and they zoomed off.

Sam shook her head, and turned back to command her Pokemon team. "Everyone, hit it with everything you've got! Ice Beam, Overheat, Flamethrower, Thunder, Hydro Pump, Earthquake… the best attacks you've got!" she turned to each Pokemon in the sky and on the ground. "And Rayquaza, Hyper Beam!"

"Everyone now, and all together!"

The dust cleared, and all that was left was rubble and crumbling stone. Sam, looking entirely human and not glowing anymore, stood on Rayquaza, as if satisfied with what she'd done, and smiled, peacefully. "It's… done…" she murmured. And she fell.

** **PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE. YOU, WHO MIGHT HAVE QUESTIONS, MIGHT FIND THEM IN HERE. SO READ IT.**

OHMIGODDDDDDD. That's the longest chapter I've done so far.

First of all, I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry for not posting earlier. I don't want to put on excuses, because I know that's the LAST thing you want to see on this chapter.

Music played a big part in this long, long, lonnnng chapter. I listened to "Two Is Better Than One" while I was doing Sam's memory film thing before everything went haywire, and then "Pyramid" by Charice and Iyaz and "When I Look At You" by Miley Cyrus (I don't know about you guys, but I just LOVE that song) while I was writing Sam and Gary's last time together.

Wait. Did I just say 'last time'? Didn't mean it that way. Okay, so let me just give you a little information. SAM ISN'T DEAD. Yet. Yes, I'm cruel in that way.

This is the second to last chapter. After this is the last chapter, then the EPILOGUE. Ohhh… it really is almost over!

Wasn't Sam controlling like almost ALL the Legendary's cool?! I mean, I'd give anything to do that! Anyone miss a few, that's okay, I did that on purpose because I just couldn't fit all of them in the same place.

I LOVE YOU ALL. I'm sorry for keeping it this long, so I just poured everything that makes me a writer into this chapter. This is the best by far chapter I can think I did, so… here you go.

I posted the last chapter on, so… click the 'next chapter' button.

Ja~


	25. Forever

Finally, the bird Pokemon had landed their passengers on the ground. Mewtwo, though, had preferred to let his 'passengers' land in the most uncomfortable way possible.

Amber had a big smile on her face, and she turned to Mason. "That was the most-" she gasped as Mason suddenly leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth.

"Finally," Topaz muttered, but still happy for her sister.

Skye and Gary on Ho-oh were the last to land. "You've got an awesome girlfriend," Skye commented to Gary. When Gary was silent, Skye just put a hand on Gary's shoulder. "She's gonna be okay. I have a feeling about this."

Gary shook his head. "Where's Sam?"

"I… I don't… Rayquaza had her, right-" Skye left the question unfinished, as he saw something behind Gary's back.

"What are you looking at?"

Gary turned around, and saw Sam falling from Rayquaza's head, headed towards the sea. "NO!" Gary yelled. Everyone turned to Gary from what they were doing, and saw the same thing. The Legendary Pokemon seemed to grasp what was going on, and let out their own cries.

"_Kyogre!_" Moltres cried out. "_Get Sam!_" Kyogre disappeared from surface, and swam as fast as she could to where Sam was falling. She surfaced at the right time, and Sam landed on Kyogre's back, unharmed.

"No…" Gary said quietly. "No, no…" He felt something peck him really hard in the back, and turned around to see Moltres bowing her head down. "What's with you…?" he asked.

She bowed her head insistently, and Gary realized that Moltres wanted Gary to ride her. "Well, alright then," he said, and climbed on. "Steven, get on," he looked at Steven, who looked so helpless. Gary winced, and just waited for Steven to approach them.

When Moltres was sure that Steven and Gary were secure, she raced as fast as she could towards Kyogre.

When they were close enough, Gary practically jumped off of Moltres. He landed on Kyogre (after a muttered apology) and went to Sam, who was lying down, mouth slightly open.

It didn't look like she was breathing.

Gary's own breath caught in his throat, and he felt tears prick his eyes. "Sam…" he said quietly.

Steven had reached him by them, and he was already crying. "No…!"

Moltres closed her eyes at their pain. She, only she, knew how to save Sam. But she needed… she needed…

She needed what wasn't available to her. She scowled, in the only way a Legendary Pokemon could. _Darn those idiots. _

Meanwhile, the gang had arrived on their flying Pokemon steeds, and were starting to cry. Amber didn't even want to look at Sam. Topaz, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring – or crying.

_Their pain! _Moltres was in anguish. _Our baby, our Sam! I need to… I have to! _Moltres let out a loud screech.

"_Whoa, Moltres, what's the matter?_" Articuno asked, looking concerned.

"_Nothing,_" Moltres replied scathingly. "_Where the heck are they when you need them?!_" she muttered angrily under her breath. "_They're there when you don't want them to be, but when you do…" _Moltres hissed. She rose up into the air and started flying away.

"Even Moltres doesn't want to watch," Steven said, sadness overcoming him.

"Sam… she always said that Moltres was like a mother to her," Gary said, sounding dead. "Maybe… maybe she just doesn't…" Gary couldn't find any more words. He was out of them. Sam… she wasn't coming back, was she?

"Steven," Phoebe reached out for him, and he drew her close in a tight hug. He felt Phoebe crying, and he just patted her back, although tears were starting to drip down his face as well.

Topaz was just shaking her head. "She's not dead, she's not gone, she's still here… I want her to be here again!" she cried, and James held her tightly, pressing his cheek against the top of her hair.

Wallace looked at Sam's unmoving body, and he knew… he knew deep in his heart that it was his fault, for some selfish, stupid reason. _If I hadn't fought with Winona that night… no one would've replaced me… Sam wouldn't have been drugged… this never would've happened!_

Skye stood there, with no tears running down his face, but with the feeling that he could've prevented it… if only… if only... "Why you, Sam?" he asked quietly. "Why? You don't deserve this!"

Amber was already crying, and Mason was rubbing her back comfortingly, whispering words of comfort to her, even while he was crying.

Gary just stared blankly at the girl he was in love with… at the girl who had taught him to care for other people, not just himself… at the girl who argued with him day and night before… at the most beautiful girl he had ever met, inside and out.

He didn't see Winona leaning down next to him, and giving him a hug.

He didn't see his friends also gathering around him.

He didn't see Steven clench his fists in remorse; as Phoebe started to comfort him.

He didn't feel the tears running down his cheek.

All he saw was Sam dead. All he felt was the slow, painful, ripping of his heart.

"_I know you two are down here somewhere! I just _know _it!" _Moltres let out a loud screech as she flew over the region of Sinnoh. "_Come out like the Legendary Pokemon you two are supposed to be!_"

She circled Sinnoh over and over again, as fast as she could. Moltres screeched even louder, the flames on her wings starting to flare out dangerously. "_Cowards! You know you were wrong, and still you hide! We need you! Sam needs you!_"

And then… Moltres felt it. There was a sudden pull that she couldn't explain… something that was pulling her to Snowpoint City. _So they're finally letting me know where they are. This is gonna be fun._

Snowpoint City had a series of mountains around it, some that people hadn't exactly explored over the years, and thus, giving our sarcastic Legendary duo, Dialga and Palkia, enough cover.

Moltres found their hideout deep in a cave, and she spoke to them quietly. "_Finally. I've finally met you._"

The cave wasn't, well, a cave, but an opening to an even bigger space inside the mountain. It was big, big enough to fit Palkia and Dialga, and still give them plenty of space. Palkia stared up at Moltres, disdainful, and stood up. "_Why are you here?_"

"_You know why I'm here! You could help Sam, but you choose, deliberately, not to help her!_" Moltres flapped her wings in rage; flames shooting out, and sparks bouncing dangerously close to where the two sat.

Dialga, sensing real anger and pain, stood up in a rush. "_Don't get too excited, Moltres… just tell us what's happening. I like you because you've been one of the more tolerable of the Legendary lot, and I actually admire you for that._"

"_No time for flattery,_" Moltres said in an icy tone. "_What happened is that the whole MARGE operation is done, and we had to sacrifice Sam for that to happen. No thanks to you two!_"

"_Even if we wanted to help the young Spirit Sage, we couldn't, remember?_" Palkia replied in a tone that almost was as icy as Moltres'. "_We need direct orders from a Spirit Sage, past or present. I don't see any Spirit Sage here, hm?_"

Moltres was angry at Palkia's reply, not because it irritated her, but because it was true. "_You have to go there! You might not be able to help, but who knows what will happen?_"

Palkia let out a snort. "_It's going to be a waste of our time and power, Moltres. To go even when we know that there's nothing that can be done? Please!_"

Dialga was staring thoughtfully at Moltres, an idea forming. "_We could give it a try._"

"_EXCUSE ME?!_" Palkia couldn't believe it. "_You're actually willing-_"

"_Shut up,_" Moltres screeched. "_Stop thinking about yourself! At least Dialga's actually THINKING!_"

"_You'd have to beat us, first,_" Dialga said calmly, smiling coldly. "_Beat us, and we'll go with you, no sweat._"

"_Are you stupid?! You're just wasting even more time! By the time we get there, Sam will be dead and gone for sure!_" Moltres was getting _pretty_ angry with these two hardheaded Legendary brats, and she had no time for this.

Besides, she doubted that she could beat these two all by herself. They were sarcastic, stubborn, mean and hated, but they were powerful. And Moltres couldn't beat that.

"_Aw, Moltres won't have trouble beating you, you two little hypocrites,_" a new voice joined in the conversation, and Moltres looked up in relief to the opening of the cave to see the rest of the Legendary bird trio hovering there. It was Zapdos who had spoken. "_She'll have us beating the crap right out of you right next to her!_"

"_Took you long enough_," Moltres rolled her eyes, but smiled. They were always there.

Articuno swept down, his eyes on Moltres', and he blinked once, his way of letting Moltres he cared. "_Right, so are you guys gonna come peacefully or not?_"

"Isn't there anyway we can… save Sam?" Phoebe asked Steven, as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

He shook his head sadly. "Have _you _seen anyone raise from the dead?"

She was quiet, and another tear slid down her cheek. _No_…

It was one thing to see Sam fall from the sky, it was another to see the effects on those who had cared for her the most.

But like I said… Sam's not dead. Not yet.

"_Where am I?" Sam asked._

_She was just floating, she couldn't make herself move. She was wearing a plain white dress, something she despised. "Anyone there?"_

"_You've done a great job, Sam…"_

_Sam's heart lifted at the voice; it was her mother, her true mother, who was speaking. "Aria- Mom…" she said quietly._

_Arianne appeared in front of Sam, and she hugged her daughter tightly. "You have made me so proud."_

"_Glad to hear." Suddenly, something flashed in Sam's brain. "Mom? Where is everybody? Where's Gary? Is he okay? Mom?"_

"_Calm down, sweetheart…" Arianne quieted down her daughter's fears. "Everyone is okay. You, on the other hand, have seemed to have suffered quite a lot."_

_Sam was quiet._

"_To answer your first question, you are… floating around in your subconsciousness." Arianne swept her arms around the space, and Sam realized that it was here that she had first heard Arianne's voice. "And no, you're not dead yet." At Sam's raised eyebrows, she laughed. "Everyone who's in this scenario thinks that question sometime."_

"_Mom…" Arianne turned to Sam, noting the sad expression on her face. "I… I won't be here forever, right?" Tears started to leak out of her eyes. "I'm gonna go back and be with the others, right?"_

_For the first time, Arianne didn't have an answer ready._

"_I can't leave them!" she said. "I can't just be gone! I remember what happened! I know I tired myself out! I used all of my power at the same time and became unstable! I _glowed_!" Sam's lower lip trembled. "I can't just… leave Gary!"_

_Arianne stared at Sam, wishing that she could erase all the pain and the cause of it. But… she couldn't._

"_I love him! I need him! He feels the same… do you think I can just… go poof on him?"_

"_Sam… the answer to your question… it's not in me, but in two Legendary Pokemon I adore. I gave them a little something… that will save your life."_

"_Really?" Sam said, brightening up. "Who? Maybe… Groudon and Kyogre? Or any of the Legendary Bird Trio. Mew and Mewtwo?"_

_Arianne shook her head. "Actually, it's Palkia and Dialga."_

_It was as if a small weight had slid down Sam's throat and straight into her stomach. "The key to my living again is in the hands of the two Pokemon who hate me the most?!" she threw up her hands. "I'm doomed. Bye, Gary. Bye, Steven. Bye, Phoebe, Wallace, and Winona. Good-bye, Amber, Topaz, Skye, Mason and James. Nice knowing you all."_

"_Well, when I gave them the power, I didn't know that they'd despise you…" Arianne said thoughtfully. "Oh, just have a little faith in them, and the other Legendaries who love you, compared to their hatred." She smiled at her daughter. Suddenly, Arianne froze, and cocked her head, as if listening to something._

"_Mom, what's wrong?"_

_She shook her head, a little smile on her face. "I have to make an appearance to the living," she said hastily. "I forgot that the two can't use the power unless someone orders them to…"_

"_Ah… mom?"_

"_Yes, sweetheart?"_

"_Thanks." Sam smiled at her mother, and Arianne leaned down to kiss Sam on the forehead. "Can you… ah… tell Gary something for me?…"_

"We have to get the… body… soon," Wallace said to Steven hesitantly. They had checked her signs of life. No heartbeat, no breathing. It was really… over.

"No…" Steven said, shaking his head. "Not yet. I have a feeling…"

"Stop, Steven…" Winona gently tried to discourage him from false hope. "She's…"

"She's not dead, you hear me?" Steven said harshly. "Just wait a few minutes, that's all I'm asking!"

The two were silent.

"And… I don't think Gary'll forgive you if you take Sam away from him now," Steven said bitterly.

Kyogre had landed them on a nearby island (Mewtwo was watching the MARGE leaders, saying that it was his last gift to Sam to make them as uncomfortable and fearful as possible) and Gary was now kneeling on the floor next to Sam, gently stroking her face with his fingers. He had her head elevated on his knee.

"Sam…" he whispered. "My Sam…"

Moltres had a smug look on her face, something that Zapdos and Articuno found unsettling. "_Hey, what's up with you, hm?_" Zapdos asked.

Articuno was silent, seeing that he cared a whole lot more for Moltres than anyone actually knew, and tried to understand what Moltres was feeling.

"_Who wouldn't be happy?_" Moltres asked, sounding almost like she was chirping. "_I mean, we got Palkia and Dialga to follow us on a single command. And I actually like this idea,_" she bubbled with happiness.

She had a long, sort of leash-y thing attached to her leg, and another leash was attached to Articuno's leg. The other end of both leashes were either tied around Palkia or Dialga's neck.

"_This is so degrading,_" Palkia hissed from behind Moltres. "_We are not Growlithe you can just tie up and be happy with!_"

Articuno chuckled. "_Don't worry, you two. We'll be at our destination soon enough._"

Meanwhile, at the island, a bright light shone, and everyone closed their eyes. "We've been getting a lot of bright lights lately," James muttered, cracking a bad joke even when his eyes were red from crying.

This time, however, there was an almost friendly and caring warmness emitting from the light. When they could open their eyes again, they were startled by the form of a woman, who looked really solid and yet, ghostly at the same time.

Her hair, which was arrow straight and silver like Steven's, was down in a neat arrangement that reached just below her shoulder blades. She wore a black and gray gown that looked ancient, but fitting for her appearance. "Hello," she said. Her voice was sweet and flowing, and it put everyone at ease.

"Who are you?" Winona was the first to speak. Winona was actually of average height, just a tad taller than Sam, who was five feet five now, but this woman was a little bit more taller than Winona, at about a five feet seven.

"Well," the voice had a hint of laughter in it, "You could look at Steven and know the answer."

"You're… you're Steven's mom… and Sam's mom," Mason said, understanding.

Arianne's grey eyes twinkled at Mason's answer. "You got it correctly."

Gary looked up at Arianne, the first time he had taken his eyes off of Sam for the past two hours, and looked hopefully at her. "Did you come to bring Sam back?" the question seemed like something that Ash would ask, not Gary, but still, the childish question made Arianne wince.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the power to do that," she said gently. "You know that I would if I could… but, on the contrary, the Pokemon who are able to bring back Sam are on the way." Her smile was gentle and full of compassion, and at that, Gary's heart felt hopeful for a while.

"M… Mom…" Steven stumbled forward, and reached out a hand. "You're…"

"Oh, Steven…" Arianne said, and also reached forward. "I'm so, so terribly sorry for leaving you and your father… I can never forgive myself, really…"

"It's okay…" Steven said, and found out, with pleasure, that he could touch Arianne. How? No one knows. It's the magic of materializing into thin air. He hugged her. "I miss you."

"Me too, honey," Arianne said, choking up. "You're making me really proud, taking care of Sam… and all of her friends…"

"She's what I have left," Steven shrugged. "It's not a problem, really…" he looked at his mother for a long time. "Is she going to be okay? Can she really…"

"The answer to both questions is yes," she replied. Surprise showed on Wallace and Winona's faces, and she looked at them. "Anything is possible, here. You two, among all people, should be more open minded."

"But… with all due respect, Mrs. Stone…"

"Arianne. Please," Arianne said, smiling at Winona.

"Arianne," Winona continued, "How could it be possible?"

"You see… the only thing that's actually dead is the Spirit Sage. Not Sam. But, unfortunately, you know that it was the Spirit Sage that was taking over Sam's body at the time she… passed," Arianne said. "The simple thing to do is to take away the Spirit Sage."

"Isn't that like," Skye fished for the right word. "Exorcism?"

"Oh, heavens, no!" Arianne said hastily. "This is actually a Pokemon attack that can save Sam."

"Mom," Steven said hesitantly. "Are you sure…?"

"I'd bet your life on it, Steven," Arianne said crossly. "Look, you're talking to the previous Spirit Sage. I knows what I'm talking about."

"All right," Gary said. Everyone looked at him, shocked. "I believe you."

"Gary…" Winona tried to tell him, without words, that if this didn't work… he'd be one heartbroken guy. But she couldn't.

"There," Arianne said happily. "Gary believes in me." Then, just as if she remembered something, she snapped her fingers. "Gary… Sam has a little message for you."

"She… she does?" he asked again, startled, as if he thought that Sam would forget him in the afterlife after she had promised she never would.

"Yes…" Arianne said. She closed her eyes, and right in front of them, a life size ghost of Sam showed up. She didn't notice any of them, and they realized (even though they didn't even think it was possible) that she was conjured out of Arianne's memory.

"Ah… mom? Would you tell Gary…" Sam looked to the ground, and bit her lip, a habit that Gary thought was endearing. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Gary, I… I never got to talk to you seriously when I was still alive… so here it is…"

"Gary… when I… if I don't go back… I just want you to know… that you're in my thoughts every day, every hour, every second," Sam seemed to be speaking straight from the heart, something she didn't normally do. "You're everything I could dream of, come true. I have to admit… some times, when I look at you, I can't believe that you're actually there, and you're mine. I can't believe that you love me, and not just me who is in love with you."

She took a deep breath, and Gary was so moved by her message, that he was completely silent. Sam spoke again. "I love you a lot… more than anyone else I ever know, that's how much I love you, Gary… I've never told you this when I was still alive, right? Funny… how people seem to want to say stuff like this after they're dead… but… well, now I understand why."

"I don't want to leave you, Gary. We could have had a future. I don't think I'll know how long it would have lasted. We have so much more to do… more battles to get through together, more situations we can beat out together… more times together." At that, her eyes filled up, and she looked away.

"You were always there for me, whether I wanted you to be there or not. Remember? That time with two dozen Poochyena? You knew I needed you. And I did. And you were there," she smiled, and Gary closed his eyes, pain filling his heart with every word, every memory that Sam conjured, as he remembered. "I don't think I would've made it this far in my life if you weren't in it, Gary. You were the first one I battled with. You saved my life, I don't know how many times, but you did."

Everyone was crying now, even Arianne, who was so touched by the love that her daughter showed to this boy… who loved her so much, possibly even more than Sam loved Gary. Steven was starting to sob, because what Sam was saying… what she was doing… it was just too much.

"There are times when you were annoying," she shrugged. "There was a time when I hated you, but, of course, I don't hate you now, obviously…" she laughed. "You've just been everything to me. As a friend, as brother, as a parent, weird as it may seem, and as a boyfriend. You're the best guy a girl could have, and I'm lucky to have met you."

"But… just in case Palkia and Dialga hate me enough to let me die, you have to move on. You can't be single forever, you're too good for that. Do it for me," she sounded like she was begging. "I just want you to be happy, Gary. Like I said… you're gonna have to be yourself with somebody else. Not me."

"No…" Gary said quietly. "It's going to be impossible, Sam…" he whispered.

"I think every person who dies isn't supposed to have any regrets at all," she continued. "But I don't feel that way. When I think of those three years I hid from all of the world, it makes me sad. Because that was three years that I could have spent with you, and now I've wasted them." Despite her words, she smiled. "You were my stars, my sun, and my moon."

"You make me feel like someone else when I'm with you. I feel… happier, and lighter. You made me realize that even if I was different… even though I was being hunted by team MARGE," she giggled. "There would… always… be someone there who'd be next to me at the end of the day, someone who'd hug me, and comfort me, and love me not because I had power, but because I was a person."

"I've never…" Amber said through tears to James, Mason, Skye and Topaz, "Seen anyone with that much love before."

"Agreed," Skye said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes.

"Mom… has to go now, Gary, so I have to say good bye to you… and maybe, possibly, for the last time." She started crying openly now. "Thank… thank you… for being there… for being _you_… for loving me…" she looked up, and her eyes were shining with tears. "Thanks… for showing me the brighter side of life… most of all, Gary… thanks for actually being a part of my life, because… because of you, I wasn't scared of the world anymore. I knew you were always going to be next to me through whatever happened."

"Lastly, I love you, I love you, and all of you. I love the way you get hyped up before a battle. I love it when your eyes sparkle when you look at me. I love the way you got jealous when I first met Skye. I love those hairclips you bought me. I love the way you spend about an hour every morning spiking up your hair perfectly. Sometimes, you're arrogant, but I love that too. I love your smile, when it's genuine… I love you, as a person."

"You've really stolen my heart, Gary…" she smiled through her tears. "I love you. Thanks. Take care of yourself."

Her ghost vanished suddenly, and Gary just broke apart. Everyone was crying even harder than they had before, and Arianne cried along with them.

"_That… that's the saddest thing I've ever heard._"

Everyone, shocked, turned to the voice, and saw Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, with Palkia and Dialga right behind them; strangely, with leashes on. It was Palkia who had spoken.

"I'm glad you could join us," Arianne said serenely.

"_Arianne!_" Dialga and Palkia said simultaneously, obviously pleased.

"Hello, you two…" Arianne said, smiling. "And thank you, Moltres, for realizing what was needed in time. And another thanks to you, Articuno and Zapdos, for helping her."

Articuno ruffled his feathers proudly, and Zapdos let out a little burst of lightning, to show her gratitude. "_Trust me, Arianne, it was a pleasure to bring these two here,_" Moltres said viciously.

Everyone except for Gary and Arianne were staring blankly at the new additions. "Are… are they talking?" James asked. "I think I'm hearing voices… are they actually talking?!"

"I think they are…" Topaz said cautiously. "But I can't be sure. Maybe it's a ventriloquist act?"

"_No ventriloquist act, Topaz,_" Topaz gasped when Articuno turned to her and winked. "_We actually really do talk. You just can't hear us._"

"_And besides, no one really understands Pokemon language, or in other words, Articuno's squawking and screeching and so on,_" Zapdos sneered.

Everyone stared. "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life," Winona squeaked. "All my life… my goal was to meet… you three, and now I'm talking to you, and I can see you… it's… wow…" Winona said excitedly.

"_It's an honor to meet you, Winona… a Gym Leader dedicated to my type,_" Moltres said. "_But I believe that we have come here for something else,_" she said, looking pointedly at Arianne, who nodded.

"Palkia. Dialga."

The two looked up, almost afraid, then passed it off with a haughty look. _"What is it, Arianne?_"

"Do you or do you not want to help this young girl?" Arianne asked, unusually stern.

Gary then remembered something that Sam had said in her message. _But… just in case Palkia and Dialga hate me enough to let me die… _He shuddered. Come to think of it, he had never seen either of the two when he was temporarily in Sam's mind. He had never heard Sam talk about them when she was talking about the other Pokemon she loved and had fun with.

His stomach twisted into a knot. _No._

Palkia and Dialga stared back coldly at Arianne. "_She means… a lot to you, Arianne?_" Dialga asked, speaking first.

"Stupid question!" Phoebe bristled at the two. "Sam is Arianne's daughter!"

"It's okay, Phoebe…" Arianne smiled comfortingly at her. "These two have difficulty in understanding humans. When you deal with them, you need patience."

"_Sam has shown more than patience when these two show up,_" Zapdos said angrily. "_Arianne, they're horrible to her!_"

"_Shut up, living lightning rod,_" Palkia said cruelly. "_And we're not that mean to her._"

"_Yes, you ARE!_" Zapdos screeched. Everyone winced.

"Enough," Arianne said, narrowing her eyes at Palkia and Zapdos. "Palkia, Dialga, I'm going to ask you one more time: do you want to help or not?"

Before either of the two could speak, Gary spoke up. "You two… I know you hate Sam. I'm not questionning why… but… if you help her," Gary took in a deep breath. "If you help her, I'll be so happy. I don't think you care much for us humans, but… it would mean so much if you'd… because she means so much to me…" his voice broke, but no tears came out. "She's everything to me, and if I lose her…"

No one could read Palkia and Dialga's expression… were they softened? Or were they just as determined as ever to say no? Dialga sighed. "_We will help._"

Gary let out a deep breath. "Thank you."

"Alright," Arianne, smiling hugely, turned to the two. "Get closer, you know what you're supposed to do."

Dialga and Palkia stepped forward, and Gary had to step back, near Steven, who gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Arianne closed her eyes, and concentrated. "I don't just need Dialga and Palkia," she said tiredly. "I need you three," she said, looking at Moltres and Articuno and Zapdos. "This attack… it's not enough for just the two of them." Then, she looked at everyone else. "I need all of you to think really, really hard. To wish that this will work. If I don't have enough power to complete this…" she left it unfinished.

"_We're here, Arianne, and we will help,_" A deep voice said, from somewhere next to Amber. Amber yelped, then realized that the voice was coming from the Legendary Pokemon, Entei.

Slowly, around them, the other Legendary Pokemon who had appeared previously to help Sam appeared. From behind Gary, Suicune stepped out, one of her tails swishing against Gary's side. The others were in the sky, or forming around Sam.

"_I left the MARGE leaders under Ash Ketchum's care,_" Mewtwo said, a small smile forming. "_Let's just say that Pikachu's having a lot of fun right now._"

Arianne looked relieved. "I can always count on you, can I?" she said, smiling. "Alright, now, when I command Palkia and Dialga to do their attacks, I want all of you guys," she paused briefly so she could look at all of them. "To hit the two with everything you've got."

Evil grins spread widely across each Pokemon's face, except for Dialga and Palkia, which looked kind of creepy. "_Oh, it will be my pleasure,_" Raikou said happily.

"Looks like Palkia and Dialga weren't very chummy with the other Legendaries, either," Winona whispered to Wallace, who nodded, amused.

"_Should I use Flamethrower, or Overheat?_" Moltres mused to herself.

"_Hyper Beam should do the trick,_" Rayquaza said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Arianne looked hastily at the Pokemon who looked like they were ready to kill Palkia and Dialga the minute Arianne said 'go'. "You're only supposed to transfer your power to them, and you do that by hitting them with any attack." She looked at Dialga and Palkia. "Neither of you will faint, before you ask, even if Rayquaza overcharged his Hyper Beam."

"_Darn it,_" Articuno said, obviously disappointed.

"_Can't you make it hurt… even just a little bit?_" Zapdos asked.

"Alright, you guys, enough of that. We have to save Sam, and hurry. So…" she looked at Palkia and Dialga. "Palkia, Dialga! SPIRIT RELEASE."

Palkia and Dialga both emitted a light blue substance, almost like a mist, which wrapped around Sam, and lifted her up. As they did this, the other Pokemon were using various attacks against the two.

Moltres was enthusiastically giving Palkia an overpowered Overheat, but, instead of fainting, the blue mist actually started to get thicker, and even cover Sam completely. "Arianne…" Gary said. "What's… happening?"

"This is an attack I taught Palkia and Dialga. Spirit Release will remove the Spirit Sage entirely from Sam."

The blue mist was becoming almost solid by now. Palkia let out a grunt, and the blue mist started to glow. No one could see Sam anymore. "It's done," Arianne said. Peace settled in Gary's heart.

And then everything exploded.

"_Am I… am I really… free?" Sam asked, suddenly feeling lighter than ever. "Or did everything fail and am I floating towards heaven?"_

"_You will be free," a voice answered. Sam could tell if it was man, or woman. She looked around and saw a light purple formation, that looked almost like smoke with eyes. "And so will I."_

"_The Spirit Sage," Sam said, immediately recognizing the presense. "I always thought that the Spirit Sage was whoever you were occupying… but you are the true, original Spirit, aren't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What's going to happen after this?" Sam asked._

"_You will regain consciousness, and I will by then have a new host."_

"_A new host? You mean…"_

"_It is not possible for me to die, or to be unexisting. I must exist, Sam." The purple smoke shook a little. "I will enter the body that I seem most fitting for me, and the cycle will continue."_

"_But… the ones there… they're my friends," Sam said, voice barely over a whisper._

"_If they are your friends… they will sacrifice for you, regardless."_

Palkia and Dialga looked bruised and tired out, and the other Legendaries looked a bit angry and annoyed that they didn't look burned, paralyzed, or frozen, or any kind of damage at all. "_And here I was, thinking that at least _something _would happen,_" Deoxys said grumpily.

But everyone was crowded around Sam now, hoping that everything was okay.

Gary had Sam's head on his knees again, and he was holding her hands. "Please, please, please…" he muttered.

Suddenly, Sam's body shuddered, and she let out a long breath. "Oh, thank God," Topaz said. Sam opened her eyes. Suddenly, Skye gasped, as if in pain. Everyone turned to him, eyebrows raised. "You okay, there, Skye?" Mason asked, concerned for Skye.

He shook his head. "Nothing… I'm just… tired, I guess," Skye said. Amber didn't like the sound of his voice, but said nothing. "Really," he said, trying to convince Amber.

When Sam opened her eyes, the first person she saw clearly was Gary, and he was nothing less than ecstatic when he saw the clear, amethyst color of her eyes. The color he loved, on the girl he loved. "Ga… Gary…" she said softly. "I'm… really here?"

Amber burst into happy tears, and Phoebe wrapped an arm around Amber.

"Hey…" Gary said softly, and tucked her bangs behind her ear, as they were loosening. "You had us really scared there, Sam…"

"You knew I was going to come back, right?" she asked, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.

"I never doubted that," he reassured her. "I'm just… glad… you're okay," he said, choking up again.

"What's turned you into a crybaby?" Sam teased him weakly. She tried to get up, and found out that she could.

"Come on, there are a lot of people who want to talk to you," Gary said, smiling at her as she linked elbows with him.

"Sam-" Steven stumbled as he walked over to her and hugged her. "You little… you little…" he sighed as he ruffled her hair playfully, as any other big brother would. "If you get yourself in trouble like that again… I'll… I'll…"

Sam wrapped her arms around Steven and grinned. "You'll what?"

He sighed again, but smiled. "Try to get you out of that trouble."

A new pair of arms grabbed her then, and Sam breathed in the familiar, flower-y scent of Phoebe. "Sam, don't ever scare us like that again!" she said sternly, but then broke into a huge smile. "Oh, who am I trying to kid? I'm just glad you're alright!"

It was then that Wallace and Winona practically yanked Sam away from Phoebe and said nothing, just hugged her kind of awkwardly, since hugging with three people isn't exactly comfortable. "Sam… It's my fault!" Wallace and Winona said at the same time.

"Don't talk like that," I said, exasperated. "I'm sure, that everyone here is thinking the same thing. And, technically, it's Team MARGE's fault. Let's leave it at that," she said firmly. Winona smiled, and Wallace just hugged Sam tighter.

"SAM!" Amber screamed as she ran towards Sam, and hugged her tightly. "I thought you were going to… if Palkia and Dialga hadn't… if you didn't… if I wasn't… SAM!" she started bawling. Sam smiled endearingly at her and hugged her back.

Topaz also ran herself into Sam, and was just hugging her tightly. "Please, just… don't do that again." She smiled bitterly. "Gary'd give us a hard time if you weren't here."

Mason and James gave her friendly hugs, and told her pretty much the same thing that Amber and Topaz had mentioned, but the minute she and Skye locked eyes, she felt… something. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something different with Skye now, she just couldn't tell. Instead of worrying about it, though, she grinned up at Skye and held out her arms. "Aren't you gonna hug me when everyone else did?"

Skye chucked and hugged her tightly. "Just glad you're back, Sam…"

Sam saw her mother, standing on the side. She grinned. "Mom!" Arianne smiled at her daughter and kissed her gently on the head. "Thanks… for everything."

"It was my pleasure to help you, Sam… but I just want to let you know that I won't be able to contact you anymore." Arianne smiled weakly, and looked a bit sheepish. "You're not the Spirit Sage anymore, right? So… basically… we have no more connection."

"Connection?!" Sam repeated, aggravated. "You're my _mother_!"

Arianne chuckled. "It's okay, Sam. Besides, I can see that you have a lot of people who will take care of you… and the bonds you form with Pokemon won't break that easily," she reminded Sam, and tilted her head towards the Legendaries. "Just remember, sweetheart, I'm proud of you, and I love you." She turned to Steven. "Take care of your sister, or I'll ground you – even if you're twenty-seven."

Steven grimaced. "Nice, mom, nice."

"I love you Steven…" Arianne said gently. "I wish I had more time to spend with you, but you can't." she held up her arms helplessly.

"Arianne, wait!" Gary said. Arianne turned to him, a questionning look in her eyes. "Er, I was just… thinking…"

Gary leaned down so he could whisper in Arianne's ear, blushing furiously. Arianne blinked; shocked. "You're a little bit young for that," she hissed, but smiled all the same.

"I know, but I was just asking, you know in adavance…" he tried explaining. Sam looked at the two, eyebrows raised.

"What secret are you two keeping from me?" she asked, watching as Gary's face turned even redder.

"Oh, something you will know in the future, Samantha," Arianne winked. "Alright, gotta go… people to meet, places to go!" she smiled at everyone. "Sam, Steven… I love you both. And Gary…" she sighed. "Alright, fine, YES."

Then she disappeared.

"What did she mean by 'yes'" Steven and Sam asked at the same time.

Gary shrugged, an evil expression on his face, but also slightly happy. "Like what she said, something you'll know in the future." He smiled easily at the two, who both narrowed their eyes at him. Gary chuckled at the similarity in their faces. Sam turned around and saw all of the Pokemon. She smiled at them.

"I… just want to thank you all."

Everyone let out a loud exclamation at the same time, and Sam had to cover her ears. "Guys, guys, slow down…"

"_Moltres, you go first,_" Kyogre said from the ocean.

"_Speaking on behalf of the group…" _Moltres' eyes twinkled. "_We're so glad you're fine, Sam. We'll be keeping in touch,_" she said. Sam thought of something just then, and went up to Moltres to whisper in her ear.

"Lot of that going around," Steven said, rolling his eyes.

As Sam leaned back, Moltres nodded, smiling. "_Zapdos, Articuno. Come here for a minute._"

Sam walked back to the group, a small smile on her face. "Winona, you might wanna stand near them for a minute."

"Huh? Why?" Winona asked, confused.

"Just because," Sam said.

Meanwhile, Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres were standing close together, and then a light gold light shone from them. They stepped back, and looked directly at Winona. "_Winona_?" Articuno said. "_We, as bird Pokemon, would like to thank you for your dedication and such to us… and we'd like to give you a little something to remind you of us._"

Winona, trembling, stepped forward as the trio stepped back, revealing a beautiful necklace on the ground. The only décor on the necklace, however, were three feathers; one, a light golden yellow with flames at the end that didn't seem to burn the skin, or feel hot at all; in the center, a blue, downy feather with small ice crystals that were on it; and the last was an angular shaped feather, a bright yellow that sparked with electricity that didn't hurt. Winona picked it up, admiring its beauty. "Oh… wow… your feathers," she said, her breath catching in her throat.

Sam smiled. "I told them that you were a huge fan, and you are… right?"

"THANK YOU!" Winona said, whether speaking to the trio or Sam, no one knew.

Sam was smiling when she felt Gary pulling on her shirt sleeve. "Gary?"

"Can we talk?" Gary asked, gesturing to an open space that was right at the edge of the island, kind of like a beach, only rocky. Sam smiled at him.

"Sure," she said easily, and they walked over to the space, and sat down. The others noticed this, of course, and smiled to themselves, but the Pokemon, especially Articuno, decided that private time was… well, _private time._

"_Hey, Winona, bet you've never rode on a bird fueled with electricity, huh_?" Zapdos said, and bowed under Winona so she could ride on Zapdos' back.

Rayquaza, after a nod from Articuno, coasted downwards and landed on the ground. "_Who's up for the roller coaster ride of their life?_"

Who couldn't say no to that?

Gary looked at Sam, who was watching as the sun rose from the horizon. "It's been a very long day… or night," Sam said.

"Yeah…" Gary looked at the sun, and smiled to himself. "You know what? Now… now we don't have anything to worry about," he said quietly.

"Hm?" Sam laughed. "You think so?"

"We have… forever… how long we last… to each other," Gary said seriously. Then he leaned down and smiled at her. "I plan on spending the rest of forever with you, you know."

Sam blushed, and turned away. "Forever?"

"Forever." He kissed her gently on the lips, not as long as the other kisses, but just as sweet. "Guess you figured out what your mom meant by 'yes', hm?"

It all clicked together. "GARY! You didn't… oh, you DIDN'T!" she said, eyes wide.

He held up his hands, in a surrendering gesture, and smirked. "I only asked your mom if she minded if I spent forever with her youngest and only daughter," he said, trying to look innocent.

"You- GARY!" she yelped. "Darnit, what if I meet someone else for next years of my life?"

He shrugged. "Hey, it's really up to you. I have met more girls than you will ever know ever since I started my Pokemon journey. I had a cheerleading squad that followed me around. But no girl… not _any _of the girls I've met interested me the way _you _interest me."

Sam pouted. "You're making me feel guilty, Gary! I haven't been with any guy at all since you! The only other guys I've ever met were Skye, Mason and James!"

He laughed. "You wanna walk around the regions and see if any one else likes you like I love you?"

"I don't think I'll find anyone like that, Gary," Sam said confidently.

"Thought so," he smiled at her, and closed his eyes as he kissed her again, swearing never to forget this moment… forever.

Just Being Purple is now officially FINISHED. I have mixed feelings about that! It's like… I'll have nothing else to look forward to… well, there's always the sequel!

I CRIED WHILE I WAS TYPING SAM'S (FINAL) GOODBYE. I mean, really… wouldn't you cry if someone said that to you?! Would you or wouldn't you! And I basically just typed what I would say to my crush should I die and leave him with so much more for me to say to him. Hahaha.

Right… so… there's still an Epilogue for you guys to read. Click the button, and let the show begin.

Ja~


	26. Epilogue

Three Months Later…

Sam peeked out behind the curtain and gasped at the number of people who were sitting down in their seats, waiting for the wedding march to start.

"Lots of people?" Phoebe asked nervously. Sam nodded. "Is the musician getting ready?" Sam nodded again. "Oh, Sam!!!" Phoebe looked like she was about to die of nerves. "What if I trip while I'm walking up the aisle? What I rip my dress? What if I _drop _the ring and it gets lost forever?!" she looked horrified at the thought.

The younger woman rolled her eyes at Phoebe. "Phoebe, just shut up and calm yourself." She placed her hands firmly on Phoebe's shoulder, and told her, "You're not going to trip, or rip your dress, or drop the ring. You're the most graceful person I know, and you look beautiful. But if you start crying right now, you're going to ruin your make-up, which Winona worked so hard on this morning, and she's going to kill you." Sam smirked. "Wouldn't you love that for a wedding day?"

Phoebe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, as if to steady herself. "I can always count on you, Sam," Phoebe said. "Or should I say… little sister-in-law?"

"Sis works too," Sam said. "Only that's what Steven calls me. 'Little Sis'."

Suddenly, music started playing, only it wasn't the wedding march. It was the cue for the bridesmaids and flowergirls to start walking up the aisle. The flowergirls were Flannery's little sister, Winona's little sister, Roxanne's little sister, and Erica's little sister, looking radiant in little pink dresses that matched the ribbons in their hair and the pink rose petals in their white baskets.

Flannery, dressed in a scarlet dress, Sidney, her escort at her side, winked at Phoebe. "Looks like it's my turn, Phoebz," Sidney said. "Don't trip, or anything," he said hastily, and tucked Flannery's arm in his, as they stepped through the curtains and walked up the aisle and took their spots up on the platform.

Next, dressed in an orange dress, was Topaz, her brown hair in a knot at the back of her head, a few tendrils escaping. James, her escort, tried to crack a joke. "I didn't think you'd look this pretty," he said. Topaz rolled her eyes at him, and he switched tracks. "Although, I know that you're the prettiest girl here ever," he protested, as she tucked her arm in his, giving him a look as they started walking forward.

Amber and Mason were next. Amber was wearing a sunny yellow dress, and she beamed at Phoebe. "You look _beautiful_!" Amber cooed, before she and Mason walked up the aisle.

I guess you can see where we're going here, with the color coding. RAINBOW STYLE. Steven thought it was tacky, but Phoebe insisted, and well… here they are now.

Lina, Drake's daughter, was wearing a pale green dress that didn't look tacky green, or lime green, or sea green (thank God), with Skye as her escort. She took a deep breath, and beamed at Phoebe. "I agree with Amber! You look _great_, sis!" she smiled at Skye, who smiled back at her, and they walked up the aisle.

Next up, was Winona and Wallace. Winona had begged to be the one wearing blue. The two looked entirely sweet together, and, even though neither had confirmed it, everyone was sure that they would be celebrating another wedding soon. After a wink at Phoebe, the two walked up.

Then it was Sam's turn, the Maid of Honor. Gary appeared out of nowhere, wearing a suit, kissed her briefly on the cheek, and whistled at her. "You look good." He marvelled.

Sam twirled around for him, and laughed. It was a light purple, yet not lavender, dress. Her hair was up. "Not my day, but the bride's," Sam reminded him, before tucking her arm through his. Phoebe waved feebly, and gulped. Sam sighed. "Don't give yourself a heart attack on your wedding day."

"Right." Phoebe gulped again. "Will do."

Gary squeezed Sam's hand, and they walked through the curtains and into the big room where Steven and Phoebe would officially become husband and wife.

She saw all the Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kanto, and Johto gym leaders, and the Elite Four. She saw her – foster – mom and dad, and they smiled at her. Seated next to Norman was his wife, May, Drew, Max, Ash, Brock, and also saw Julia and Harley somewhere else, and raised her eyebrows when she saw they were holding hands… _Hmmm… something to talk about during the reception_, Sam thought gleefully. She looked up ahead and saw Steven, dressed in a white tuxedo, and looking even more nervous than Phoebe was.

"Please, go and reassure my brother that everything's okay before I get involved," Sam whispered to Gary.

He nodded, and smirked. They had reached the head of the aisle, where they separated to the separate sides. Sam took her space near the place where Phoebe would be, and Gary went next to Steven.

"Sam says to calm down or she'll kill you," Gary said, half-laughing.

From behind the curtains, Phoebe started hyperventilating. _Why… Why am I so nervous? I should be happy… and I am… but… is this a bride thing? Is this because I'm so scared of messing up this sacred ceremony? Yup. Guess that's it…_ Phoebe thought nervously, starting to chew up her index fingernail, and realized that her manicure would be ruined. "Mmmmmmmmmm!" Phoebe muffled her scream behind her hands.

She was aware of someone rubbing her back, and turned around to see Glacia and Drake there, smiling warmly at her. Since Phoebe's parents weren't around, Glacia and Drake would be the ones to give her away to the groom. They were, in a way, sort of parents towards Phoebe.

"Calm down, Phoebe," Glacia said. "I've never seen you this nervous, dear…"

"Believe me," Phoebe said. "Neither have I…"

"You know what?" Drake said smiling. "You're nervous now… but when you step out there, it'll all be gone. Trust me."

"Nothing in the world could calm – " Steven stopped hissing at Gary when the wedding march struck up.

Steven lost his breath, and his heart almost flew out the window, when Phoebe, his beautiful bride, stepped out of the curtains, almost timidly, with Drake and Glacia flanking her at either side. Then they locked eyes.

Phoebe, for the first time, had her hair completely down, down to her mid-back, slightly wavy, her pink flower replaced by two huge white flowers. Her dress was sleeveless, with a full skirt.

Her veil wasn't that extrvagant, and her dress had no dramatic train that had little children holding it up to make sure the bride wouldn't trip. But it was her; just being there, just knowing that she hadn't run out on him at the last minute, that calmed him down almost immediately.

Gary and Sam smiled at Steven, although he didn't notice.

Phoebe was also feeling the same that Steven was feeling. Standing there, in his tuxedo, looking at her as if she was the only person in the world, made her feel calm. She loved him truly, with all her heart and soul.

There was no doubt that he felt the same.

Before Phoebe had even realized it, they were already at the end of the aisle, and Steven was still there. Smiling, Drake handed her over to Steven.

The minute their hands touched… it felt as if everything was alright with the world.

Sam smiled dreamily at Steven and Phoebe. _They look so _cute _together, I could just die… _She sighed. _Happy endings really do happen, do they? That's a good thing. I wonder if there's a happy ending for me and Gary? _

As she thought this, she looked over at him, and he caught her eye and winked. She smiled back. _There's gonna be a happy ending, I can feel it. Even though I don't know when it'll be, but there will be a happy ending._

"You may now kiss the bride." The ceremony was over as quickly as it had started, and Sam saw Glacia getting out a tissue and wiping her eyes with it.

Steven and Phoebe just stared at each other for a long time, smiling at each other. It was Phoebe who had leaned forward, though, and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Steven smiled into the kiss, and Phoebe leaned back. "I… I love you," Steven whispered, only for her ears.

"Like I do," Phoebe said, admiring her new wedding ring, a gold band with one solitaire diamond in the centre, two other diamonds flanking it. "I'm so… happy," she said, voice quaking with emotion.

He smiled gently at her, and took her arm, and led her back down the aisle.

The reception was at Steven's house, one newly purchased as a gift from his dad, Mr. Stone. It was in Lilycove, not in the town vicinity, but somewhere near the beach, something that Mr. Stone knew that Steven and Phoebe would love.

Sam had never been there, but it… was big. It was three stories high, with a big front yard and backyard. It had about six bedrooms all in all; one on the ground floor, three on the second floor, and two on the upper floor. "This isn't a house, it's a mansion!" Sam exclaimed.

The reception was outside, in the big front yard, and everyone was having a really good time. Seated at one table was the gang, Skye, Mason, James, Topaz, Amber, Gary and Sam. They hadn't seen each other for about two months prior to the wedding, so catching up was made.

"Did you know," Topaz said excitedly, her long – now straight – brown hair falling over her shoulders, framing her face, "That James makes a magnificent coordinator?"

"Well," Sam said, laughing. "I just hope that he doesn't bore the audience with his bad jokes," she smirked.

Amber grinned at that. "He is really good. I saw one of his contests, and I have to agree; he's amazing!" she grinned. "I'll get in touch with you, Sam, maybe he'll be joining the Grand Festival. I heard they're hosting it in Oldale this year."

"Are you kidding me?" Mason asked. "Oldale has a stadium?"

"Actually, it's under construction now," Gary clarified. He visited Sam a lot more lately in her Oldale home. But now that Steven had his own house now, he was willing to share – if and only if Sam wanted to respect his and Phoebe's privacy. "Looks pretty big, too."

Everyone was starting to dance, and Gary turned to Sam. "Hey, it's been a pretty long time since our last dance…" he smiled at her. "Wanna dance with me?"

Sam smiled at him. "Sure."

Steven and Phoebe were watching the party from their veranda. They had escaped and were now comfortably on higher ground. They saw Sam and Gary on the dance floor, dancing comfortably with each other.

"I worry for her," Steven said thoughtfully.

"Who?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow at him. "Sam?" she smiled at him. "Everything's done. She's normal now, like you wanted."

"I wasn't talking about that," he said slowly. Phoebe followed his gaze and saw Sam with Gary.

"Oh… _that_ part of her life," Phoebe said pointedly. "Stop worrying, then." She laughed. "Gary's a really nice guy, who loves your sister and takes care of her." He was quiet, so Phoebe just squeezed his arm. "Trust me."

Steven smiled at her. "Thanks, Phoebe. But… I just don't want her to be hurt… if he doesn't love her anymore."

"That won't – can't happen." Phoebe said fimrly. "Gary wouldn't do that to her."

"Right. I gotta have a little more faith, right?" Steven mumbled.

"Don't worry about them." She said again, and Steven smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Gary, I'm tired," Sam said. "Can we stop dancing now?"

"Sure, Sam," he complied, and they sat down at a table. "Hey," he said quietly. "Can we talk?"

"Here we go again with this," Sam said, half laughing.

"Actually, I believe last time it was, 'Can we walk'? not 'can we talk'." He smiled at her, and she got a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Is it bad?"

"Bad?" he looked confused. "Of course not. You think I'd…" he realized what she was thinking, and leaned down so he could touch his forehead to hers. "I'm not going to break up with you, Sam… not now, not ever."

She smiled hesitantly at him, and reached for his hand. "Right. So let's talk."

He led her outside the party tent, near the beach. It was almost midnight, and the sky looked beautiful. She sat down on the sand, and smiled peacefully. "You're ruining your dress and getting sand mixed in with the sparkles."

"I know," she laughed. Gary sat down next to her.

Both of them were silent for a while, and both of them were thinking the same thing. _This is the first time we've been alone… as in ALONE… since the Spirit Sage incident. The first time we get to be… normal, and we can stay as long as we want, because there are no psychotic leaders of organizations who want to ruin our lives._

"I like this feeling," Sam said. Gary smiled, and knew what she was talking about. "I can just… stay here, with you, and I won't be scared that some psycho won't drug me or anything. I like being here with you…" she added shyly, and put her head on his shoulder.

Gary shifted his body so that he could place an arm around her shoulders. She grinned. "I actually feel like a normal girl, who's on her first date with her normal boyfriend."

"You are normal," Gary pointed out. "And this, technically, isn't our first date."

"What is 'a date' to you?" Sam asked, wrinkling her nose. "Riding a Rayquaza when I'm about to die? Kissing me when I'm possessed? Or having a little walk around my subconsciousness?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "I think our first date was… hmm… hiking through Petalburg forest. Woods. Whatever."

"It was?"

"It was when I realized how much I cared for you," Gary said, turning red.

"Really?" Sam smiled up at him. "That early?"

"When did you realize, hm?" Gary asked, sticking his tongue at her.

"Hmmm…" Sam closed her eyes in concentration. "Remember when I was kidnapped – the first time, anyhoo, and I was cornered by Maxie and Archie… and then you showed up?"

"How could I forget?" he grumbled.

"Anyway, when you showed up… I don't know how to describe it. It was like… the world stopped turning. Then I was thinking, _here's the guy who would go through anything – literally anything, to save me._"

"And you were right…"

"Yeah."

The two enjoyed a comfortable silence together. Because this is what a couple is supposed to be like… having the thickest silence in the world, and still understand what's going on between them.

"You guys…"

Gary and Sam turned around and saw Skye, Amber, Mason, Topaz and James smiling at them. "Enjoying some private time?" James teased.

"Actually, come and join us," Sam said. "Looks like it's the gang again."

Everyone sat down on the sand, watching the moon high in the sky. "I'm glad it's over," Amber sighed happily.

"It isn't over," Skye and Sam said at the same time. Surprised, the two looked at each other, trying to find out what the other meant.

"What are you guys talking about?" Mason asked, making a face.

"There's still another Spirit Sage out there," Sam said. "Even though it's gone from my body… it's in anyone of us. Any one who was near me when Palkia and Dialga took the spirit from me."

"You mean… it could be in me?" Topaz asked.

"Or me?"

"Or me?"

"It's in _me_," Skye said firmly. Everyone was quiet.

"You're not serious, are you, Skylar?" Amber asked. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I just know," he replied. "It was the minute that Sam opened her eyes… I felt as if something had just run into me, and stayed in there. I feel different now. I just…"

Sam reached over and squeezed his arm. "No matter what happens, we're always going to be here for you, Skye. Even if we crushed MARGE for good, there's no telling what could happen from now on."

"Yeah. And just like we were there for Sam, we'll help you," Mason agreed, nodding.

Skye smiled a little, but he was really happy inside. Because, no matter what happened… he'd be okay, because he had his friends.

AWWWWWWW. It's DONE! :c I really though it'd be longer. But at least there's a sequel… YAY!

The ending was kinda corny and stuff, but at least it was 'AN ENDING'. Hahaha. Just kidding. Besides, I didn't want to end the story with Sam and Gary kissing or something, because that was how the last chapter added. I don't like repeating myself.

And… there's a new Spirit Sage in town named Skye Storne. Oooh. Actually, I was really, truly planning for GARY to be the Spirit Sage, but then at the last minute, I typed Skye's name in. I have good feelings about making Skye the Spirit Sage. Good feelings. I just hope I'm right.

I'd like to thank EVERYONE who loves this story and kept me going for the past year that I've been working on this story. You guys are thankful. I'd especially like to that the faithful ones:

**Serpent's Ballet – your reviews never fail to make me laugh, you've created a really good character for me that I loved to hate, and then just loved. Hahaha! (creator of SKYE STORNE)**

**Your Romeo – you receive the longest reviews award! Thanks for telling me what you like about the story, and what you think is funny. (creator of MASON RIDER)**

**thebeats – thanks for all your reviews, PM's, and advice on what I should do! That, and thanks for adding to my cast of OC's that I love, and thanks for the advice along the way. (creator of AMBER and TOPAZ STONE)**

**WolfSummoner93 – thanks for encouraging me to update, reviewing, and giving me another character, hahaha. (creator of JAMES EVENS)**

**Distant-Moon – thank you so much for giving me your insights on Gary and Sam. And for the addition to the cast. (creator of JULIA EVERGREEN)**

**MrMissMrsRandom – I like reading your reviews, because they tell me what you like, what's funny, and what you want to know. **** (creator of LINA MARKSON)**

**Special Credits to the following reviewers…**

**xEmilia **

**PerlaNemesis**

**MISTALI**

**talkstoangels77**

**Midori Nyoko**

**Holy Star**

**Sorry, sorry, SORRY if your name isn't in here. I just really tried to mention the ones who reviewed a lot. Sorry if you were kinda left out or something.**

**Well, I officially have to change the status of this story to… 'completed'. So. Read the sequel, please review, and have a good life.**

**For the last time in this story…**

**Ja~**


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